Child Trust Fund

The Child Trust Fund is a great way to give your child a financial head start in life. It will help them get to grips with the basics of personal finance; they can even add their own savings into the Fund. Then, when they are 18, they have a fund they can use for whatever the future may hold.

Halifax is one of the main providers of Child Trust Funds in the UK and Sarah and Marcus Firmin recently took out our 300,000th plan. Read on to find out more...

These are some of the costs that your child may face when they are 18.  

Expenditure	Cost Today	Cost in 18 years
First new car	£8,142	£13,385
Gap year travel	£11,779	£19,364
3 Years at university	£26,430	£43,448
Deposit on first home	£19,724	£32,424
Wedding	£18,050	£29,672

View Table Sources To see how much a Child Trust Fund could help your child, try our Child Trust Fund calculator on the right hand side of this page.  

View how regular payments from as little as £10 a month could help to support your child's future.  If you already have a Child Trust Fund and wish to set up a regular payment please read the Key Features Document  and then simply print out a direct debit form  and post it to HBOS Investment Fund Managers Limited. PO Box 2066, Gloucester GL4 3YT.

Key points of the Child Trust Fund:

• It applies to children born on or after 1st September 2002.
• It is a stocks and shares-based investment which aims to provide the potential for growth over the longer term. The investment can go up and down and your child could get back less than has been invested.
• Parents, friends and relatives can make additional contributions from as little as £10 per month, up to an overall yearly total of £1,200.
• Families on low incomes may qualify for more than £250 from the Government.
• At the age of 7 all eligible children will receive a further payment from the Government of £250 into their Child Trust Fund, with children in lower income families receiving an additional £250
• The money built up in the fund is available to the child when they reach 18.
• *The account will be managed so that income and gains will be free from all personal tax. This does not take into account any tax that may have been paid on any investments held within the fund or taxes paid by the fund before reaching the child. Tax rules may change in the future.

We have given no advice on this product.  If you require advice on the suitability of this product, you should visit an independent or whole of market financial adviser who can advise you on a selection of products from the whole market. You may be charged for this advice.