One of the options that is available to some people for savings and investment is the child trust fund vouches which is available for children born in the United Kingdom following September 1, 2002. Any child that is born in the UK after September 1, 2002 is entitled to a “child trust fund voucher”, which forms the basis of a child trust fund. These vouchers are available to any child claiming the child benefit, and child benefit is a universal benefit that all children in the UK are entitled to receiving regardless of family income.
United Kingdom Child Trust Funds
Here are the basic facts that you need to know about child trust funds:
- All children who are born after September 1, 2002 will receive a voucher that will allow to open a child trust fund.
- All children can receive a Child Trust Fund voucher regardless of their family income level. In order to receive the voucher the child must be registered to receive the child benefit.
- All savings placed into a child trust fund are tax free.
- If you are part of a low income family, then you can actually receive additional money to invest.
- All children are capable of receiving an extra 250 pounds that they can invest as soon as they reach the age of seven.
- You can top up the child trust fund by as much as 1,200 pounds every year.
- Anyone can contribute to a child trust fund, so it is an excellent addition to the gift list because family members, friends and neighbors can all contribute for your child.
- At the age of sixteen the child is allowed to make the decisions about how the money will be invested.
- The investment itself cannot be accessed until the child has reached the adult age of 18.
- Child trust funds are transferable between different people and it does not require any extra cost.
- The first child trust funds are going to mature in the year 2020. From April 2009 and on, child trust funds can be opened online and no voucher has to be sent in to the fund provider.
- 24 percent of all parents are topping up their children’s trust funds.
- In August 2008 alone more than 3.61 child trust funds existed in the UK.
Once you have received a voucher, the next step is to choose a provider for the child trust fund, to contact them, and then to open the account up. The voucher needs to be sent in with the paperwork, at least until April 2009 when the trust funds can be opened up online without requiring that the voucher be sent along. Once the child trust fund is started, all that is left is topping it up every year to contribute to your child’s investment.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2009-01-07 05:46:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Articles -
7 Budgeting Examples /caption] When it comes to budgeting examples, one of the best things that you can do is to look at a successful budget and draw from it to establish your own. Everyone has a different idea of what makes a good working budget, and your budgeting examples need to be...... -
4 Tips for College Students Budgets /caption] If you are a college student, then your primary focus is probably set on your studies and trying to maintain your education so that you will be benefited in the future. Unfortunately, one of the things that you may not be putting enough consideration into is how you are...... -
401K Planning 101 If you are young, and you are just beginning a career, then the idea of retirement planning may seem so very far off that it is probably the last thing on your mind right now. But if you are on the other side of the fence, and retirement is approaching...... -
Are Your Gadgets Sucking Your Wallet Dry? /caption] We live in a digital age and the vast majority of us rely heavily on numerous technological devices to get us through our days. What we may not realize however is just how much these gadgets cost to run. Companies throughout the United States are finding out that they...... -
Teach Your Teen About Saving Money One of the biggest reasons why having a teenage child can be difficult is because teenagers tend to spend money easily and freely without any real regard for what goes into earning that money in the first place. Teenagers tend to spend a great deal of money on clothes, shoes,......
Related Sites -
Is Your Child An Investment? A common comment about children and the expense it takes to raise them is that such costs are 'an investment in the future'. As analogies go, this isn't bad; we put money, time and effort into raising children, and expect them to grow, mature, and become productive when they get...... -
How To Give Your Kids An Allowance I accidentally found myself watching one of those wife swapping shows (which honestly sounds like something that shouldn't be on TV) the other day and the parents were debating allowances. Since then a few blogs have starting talking about allowances and what's right and what's wrong with it. Like most...... -
Getting rich, made simple - part 1 In 'raises- are they for suckers' I promised a followup on how to get rich. I have discovered it through years of painstaking research and the results may disappoint you. I am basing this on nothing but the accumulated reading of my life to date. So with no more buildup,...... -
Private Equity Funds on the Rise Doesn't it seem that there's been a resurgence of Private Equity buyouts of familiar public companies???Readers Digest just agreed to be acquired for $1.6 Billion. 2005 was infact a banner year for corporate buyouts with targets like Hertz, Toys R Us, Neiman Marcus, La Quinta and Dunkin' Brands, the owner...... - Baby Bonds or Lazy Man's Trust Fund It seems like Baby Bonds are in the news. I've been reading at Dollar Roller and Money Smart Life. The idea seems to be that the government would open a $5,000 account for every newborn baby in the US. The money would grow and mature at the child's 18th birthday.......