FAMILY PLANNING
Learn more about family planning. Supporting your family and providing for their future.
Have you ever considered what would happen to you or your loved ones if you couldn’t work due to a long-term illness or injury which results in a loss of earnings?
Protecting yourself and your loved ones if the worst were to happen.
Visit our Protection page to learn more about the various types of protection available to help support your family financially.
Critical Illness
Private Medical Insurance
Income Protection
Life Insurance
Budget your money.
Life rarely stands still. Priorities shift, circumstances change, opportunities come and go and plans need to adapt. But regular discussion and reviews are the key to keeping on top of things. This means adapting your plans when things change, to keep you on course.
Financial Planning.
1. WHAT ARE MY FINANCIAL GOALS?
Generally, people’s financial goals change as they progress through different life stages. Here are some themes which might help you consider your own goals: n In your twenties, you may want to focus on saving for large purchases, such as a car, wedding or your first home n In your thirties, you may be planning for your family, perhaps school fees or your children’s future n In your forties, your focus may move to retirement planning and growing your wealth n In your fifties, paying off your mortgage and feeling financially free is likely to be a priority n In your sixties, it is usually about making sure you have enough money to retire successfully n In your seventies, your attention may turn to inheritance planning and later-life care Other plans may also include starting your own business, buying a second home or travelling the world. Of course, everyone is different, so you might have a goal in mind we haven’t mentioned.
2. ARE MY GOALS SHORT, MEDIUM OR LONG TERM?
You are likely to have a mixture of short-term (less than three years), medium-term (three to ten years) and long-term (more than ten years) goals. Moving to a larger property might be a short-term goal, while saving for your children’s university fees might be a medium-term goal and retirement planning a long-term goal (depending on your life stage). You’ll need different strategies, and different saving and investment risk levels, for each of these goals.
3. HOW HARD IS MY MONEY CURRENTLY WORKING?
If your cash is currently in a savings deposit account, the interest rate you’ll likely be receiving is probably not going to be sufficient to keep your money growing as quickly as inflation is rising over the longer term. So your savings could eventually lose buying power in real terms over the years ahead. If you want your money to grow faster, you might want to consider allocating a portion of your savings towards investments. This may involve more risk than a savings account, but the amount of risk involved will be dependent on you and what you are looking to achieve, so you decide. Obtaining professional advice will ensure you choose investments at a risk level that suits your preferences.
4. HAVE I PAID OFF MY DEBTS?
It’s not always wise to start investing if you have debts that you need to pay off (excluding long-term debts like student loans and mortgages). That’s because overdrafts, credit cards and other short-term debts can charge you more in interest than you could expect to gain in investment returns. In most instances, it will benefit you more in the future to become debt-free before you start to grow your wealth
5. AM I MAKING THE MOST OF MY TAX-EFFICIENT ALLOWANCES?
All UK taxpayers receive certain allowances to help with saving and investing. For example, you may already have an Individual Savings Account (ISA) and be taking advantage of your annual allowance. You also have a capital gains allowance, a dividends allowance and a pension annual allowance. All of these will help you to grow your wealth faster, if you know how to use them. Tax allowances can be complex though, and they can change without much notice, so if you’re not careful you risk an unexpected tax charge. If in doubt, talk us to review your options.
6. WHAT ARE MY RETIREMENT PLANS?
A key factor in any financial plan is the date you plan to retire, as that typically marks a turning point from accumulation of wealth built up throughout your working life, to the reduction of wealth as you start to spend your savings and pass your assets on to loved ones. Ensuring that those two elements of your life are well balanced is an important part of the financial planning process.
Have you tried our Budget planning tool?
Our budget calculator is a simple tool to help you build out your monthly and weekly expenditure to track your spending habits.
Investing and saving for your children is a great way togive them a good financial start in life.
Investing for Children
Building a nest egg to provide for their financial future
Investing and saving for your children or grandchildren is a great way to give them a good financial start in life. Even small amounts can really add up if you save regularly from a child’s birth, and there are many ways to invest on behalf of a child. You need to take into account how much you can comfortably put aside, and how much you’ll need at the end of the period and if you’re saving for something sizeable, such as helping them through university or onto the property ladder.
Give your children or grandchildren the best start in life, and with some early financial planning, you could help them:
Fund a university education – university fees, student living and the costs of accommodation can all add up
Enjoy a gap year – after school, college or university, many young people opt to volunteer abroad, or simply want to see some of the world. The returns from an investment could help make this possible
Put down a deposit – a maturing investment could help them take their first step on the property ladder
Junior Savings Account (JISA)
The first and easiest option to choose is a Junior Individual Savings Account (ISA), if the child is eligible. Junior ISAs are flexible, tax-efficient and can only be accessed by the child when they reach the age of 18.
Child Trust Fund (CTF)
Changes to CTF regulations now mean investors can choose to transfer existing Child Trust Funds into Junior ISAs. Junior ISA tax advantages may depend on your individual circumstances, and tax rules may change in the future. Your existing CTF provider may make a charge for carrying out a transfer. If your child does not qualify because they have already used their Junior ISA allowance for the current tax year, or they have a CTF that they do not wish to transfer into a Junior ISA, then there are other options you could consider.
NS&I Children’s Bond
If you are a parent, grandparent, great grandparent or legal guardian, you can invest between £25 and £3,000 tax-free for five years at a time until the child reaches 16, at which point they will gain control of the bond. The interest rate is guaranteed, so you’ll know how much the investment will earn at the end of the five-year term. But if you need access to the money before the end of the five years, you’ll face a penalty – the equivalent of 90 days’ interest on the amount you cash in.
Start Investing
When investing for children, it is a good idea to go for something that gives you exposure to a broad spread of companies and sectors. It is important to get the right balance between good growth potential and not taking too much risk. You can hold investments on behalf of your child in a bare trust or a designated account. A designated account will be earmarked for your child but will be in your name and treated as your investment, and, as such, any income of over £100 will be taxed at your rate, whereas a bare trust will be treated as your child’s for tax purposes. The trustees of a bare trust have legal control until the child reaches the age of 18 (age 16 in Scotland)
Regular Savings
If you’re able to commit to making monthly contributions, then you can often benefit from higher rates of interest with a regular savings account. They’re ideal for savers who are saving for something specific and wish to drip-feed cash into their account in a disciplined way, but these accounts will usually limit the number of withdrawals you can make each year and restrict the amount of money you can invest each month. Be careful not to miss a payment or exceed the limit on withdrawals, as doing so can cost you interest.
Set up a Pension
A Stakeholder Pension Plan for a child is available, and anyone can contribute (whether it is a parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent), usually having to invest as little as £20 gross. When the child reaches their 18th birthday, they take ownership of the pension plan and make the decisions on its management. Any money in the child’s pension plan is tied up until they can actually take their benefits, which currently could be any time from age 55 (rising to 57 in 2028).