Best saving account for baby

[beckieperk]

My OH and I are looking to open a savings account or something to put our new babies money in. Does anyone have any advice as to what is the best option. We have no preference as to post office or bank etc.
Thanks.

[ILovePonyo]

Bump - We are in the same situation so will be keeping an eye on this thread :)

[HonestlyBanking]

You need to ask yourself some questions:

• How much access do we want to the money (none, some, when child is 18 etc)
  

• Rates are important, but so are the fees.
  

• If it's just cash you will need to take into account the rate of inflation as this eats up your profit. Example £100 invested at 3% per year = £103, but with inflation at say 5% real result is £103 - 5 = £98.
  

• Look at the stability on the organisation you are investing in.
  

• Make sure you don't pay any unnecessary tax
  

• Beware of best buy tables as banks often pay to be on them (plus they are stuffed full of 'special' deals
  

Your options are really cash savings, some sort of bond, equities or even a stakeholder pension.

You could pay an IFA for this advice, or I would suggest looking at websites such as: www.which.co.uk/money/ or moneyadviceservice.org.uk/

Good luck!

[ILovePonyo]

Thanks honestlybanking (apt username there :))

[peedieworky]

Oh - I was about to start the same thread!

[Davo73]

I'm glad I've found a link to do with savings.

Currently Halifax have a 6% savings account for kids but that's the end of the good news I'm afraid. I just wanted to bring my recent experiences to your attention so other time poor parents don't suffer the same fate as me.

I've tried twice in the last fortnight to open two of these acounts for my boys. On both occasions it's taken over an hour and on both occasions I've been unsuccessful because of "an IT upgrade". I've given up now. The last reason was because the "system" doesn't recognise birth certs as proof of identity!

Go elsewhere - I am.

Good luck.

[peedieworky]

Can't get it in Scotland either - only available in branch and up here we have Bank of Scotland branches. Rubbish.

[AchtungBaby]

Northern Rock has a 3% interest current account for children - you can add money to it online, but for everything else you have to go into the branch I think.

Halifax has a 5% interest regular saving account for children - you have to add between £10 and £100 / month though. I think that as many adults as you like can open 1 (but only 1) of these accounts in your child's name. It only lasts for 1 year, then it turns into a rubbish interest account, at which point you should transfer to their current account, and start again.

Whatever account(s) you go for, make sure that you fill in an R85 form - this means that the interest won't be taxed (as long as it's below a certain amount).

[AchtungBaby]

Just to add, you might be able to open a junior ISA for your baby, depending on when they were born. I imagine that this will be an attractive option, and will mean that your child will have a lump sum in a tax-free wrapper when they turn 18.

[CS4]

Hi there mums. This week, there is a lot in the press about putting our money into ethical accounts - so we can make money and make a difference to the environment or social projects. Check out //www.neiw.org for more and a little video which explains it all. Might be a nice way to set up savings for our children and do some wider good at the same time!