Dc getting money at 18

[Flickoffboris]

My dc are young but I'm thinking about setting up some savings for them, probably an ISA.

My concern is that they'll automatically get access to it at 18, and they may be absolute angels, or they may be complete idiots who'd spend it on Ibiza, drugs and partying (as I would have done ).

Short of intercepting any letters and not telling them about the money, is there any way to prevent them getting their grubby mits on it at 18? There doesn't seem to be an option to transfer it back to my name just before, or lock it til their 21 or whatever.

Are you in a similar position, what are you planning to do?

I am interested to! From the (small!) bit of research I've done, it seems the options are -

• Open a standard savings account in our name and distribute when we want to (with rubbish interested rates, not an ideal option for)
• Open a Junior Sipp (I don't like this idea, I want them to benefit before retirement!)
• Put money in a trust, but where? I presume the same as option 1

That's a far as I've got! So I'm hoping someone has another answer!

Also wondering the same so giving it a bump.

I think it's too young. I didn't put any money in my child trust fund for this reason and my dd is almost 18 and some of her friends are accessing thousands of pounds that their parents have saved and now have no say in what happens to it.

Of course these are unusual times. No driving lessons so no car buying. No holidays or pubs or parties but plenty of planning of those events is occurring.

Another bump. I’ve got around 3.5k saved for him in the Halifax one. It’s a kids account under my name.

Money in a trust can be kept there until they're any age I think. Personally I'd not go for it being released before age 25 unless it was for a masters (undergrad had more financing options), or undergrad if there's no way they'd be able to go otherwise. I also wouldn't tell them about it until they're in second year of uni.

I know a kid who got money age 18 and went NUTS. He could have used it as a house deposit, towards education etc and instead he basically tried every drug available and paid for his mates too. Myself at 18 wouldn't have done that, but I'd definitely not have been sensible! At 25 it's really have been a gift and prior to that, I would have studied a masters, but I simply couldn't afford it so didn't (and now 20 years later am studying again the long and painful way!).

At 21 I still couldn’t be trusted, I’d have bought myself I lovely Ford Mustang .
Currently save money in a very low interest savings account for DD... so bump! My work colleague has purchased a house for her DS, she goes there to put the heating on a few times a week and the lights are on timer. She also pays a gardener once a month. I’m not doing that!

We have opened a JSIA (S&S with vanguard) and got some premium bonds. We save £25 a month into each and may top either/both with birthday money etc.

DS will get both when he is 18. But this isn’t the only money we’re saving for him. Mentally we have allocated some of our other family savings for a possible house deposit or something similar but we’re not giving that to him until he needs it. I prefer to think that the saving in his name will help him get through uni or similar and that will show us that he’s responsible for the house deposit we hope to give him at 25.

The extra savings are currently in my husbands personal ISA.

It’s a bit complicated but

a) there aren’t any good financial products to lock money away until he’s 25
b) there isn’t a way to have an S&S ISA in both our names
c) a SIPP locks the money away for too long
d) it gives him a chance to show he can handle money with a smaller amount first.

May not be a perfect solution but it works for us.

Bank/building society accounts for child savers only transfer completely to the child when they are 18. There has to be an adult managing it until that time. So you can close the account when they are 17.5 and decide whether to give the lump sum to them, reinvest etc etc.

For my daughter, we told her about it and on my suggestion, she decided to keep a bit but put most into a 2 year restricted access fixed savings account to grow from there.

We have 2 dcs and due to saving monthly from birth, an inheritance and my father ( their grandfather) actively managing the fund they will have upwards to 70k each at 18. They have way more savings than us.
It's their uni fund - we have only talked it about it as such since they were little. They can have debt forever or use it wisely. We plan a drip drip approach around financial management as they get older followed by a robust chat when they turn 18 and he'll transferring it to long interest accounts. That said - a reasonably big splurge of 1k or so is going to be encouraged to get it out of system. We have to hope this works - no idea if it will

I have waxed lyrical on here before about child trust funds and junior ISAs. You’re absolutely right to be cautious about them.

We just have everything in our names. We’re not saving anything specifically for DC but have general savings. If and when the time comes we want to give them money for something they’re doing, like buying a house, then we’ll see what’s available.

All our savings are in our name apart from her birthday Christmas money etc

I max out my ISA every year with the view of giving it to my children one day. This way I will have full control over the money and choose and when I give it to them. I do have small ISAs for them where I put money others give them and any top ups after I max mine out.

We saved for DC into Junior ISA's. When DS1 turned 18 last year the interest rate plummeted so he moved it into Premium Bonds, about £10k. Dare I say he's very sensible and adds 1/3 of his part time salary in each month. Ideally it's for a car or towards a house deposit, we can only trust him to do the right thing. He also has a current account his wages/birthday monies etc go into from which he can do as he pleases.
In reality he'll likely get other handouts from us towards significant purchases but doesn't know that. GP have covered uni fees.
If he blows it he'll get nothing else, he does know that.

Thank you all very much.
We aren't a wealthy family so it's not as though we've exhausted all the ISA limits etc - if only - so I'm wondering if I should just save it all in a stocks and shares ISA under my name, but mentally have it partitioned off for each dc. Then I retain control until they are sensible enough to have it.
They also have some premium bonds which win bugger all, but are a bit exciting.
I guess it may not hurt to put £20 a month into their own ISA, which may pay out a few thousand but wouldn't be the end of the world to get frittered.... As a pp siad they are going to have a blow out at some point surely.

We've done this for our kids. We told them its for either uni/travelling/car, basically something they would enjoy. My eldest is 18 and we have given her the money - she's spent a bit and the rest is sitting in an isa ready for when she's able to go travelling. My middle child is the one whos more likely to blow it on a drink and drugs frenzy so we will manage it differently.

Mine had junior savings accounts (no isas then) and even though they are passed 18 it's linked to my accounts and they have no access - I simply transfer money termly for university for them. They get full access at 25, prior the only other person who could sign for it is my brother

I am opposed to this as have family experience of this causing real problems.

It is the same as giving a young person a fast car - you might want to know how sensible they are before doing it.

Give it away when you know who you are giving it to!

Sorry - I wasn't clear - I mean opposed to putting money into accounts that transfer automatically on 18th birthday.

That only way it to set up an account in your own name and transfer them the money when you want to.

We have savings for our DCs but have always explained what they are for. House deposits and university fees etc

They are now teenagers and know that if they waste it that's it, there's no more from us. It's what we've saved for them to help them kickstart their futures it's up to them now - I'm hoping they've listened!

We've got a children's account with HSBC, I think it's called a future saver, but it's in my name so we can decide whether she gets it at 18 or older. She also has a bit in a junior ISA that she will get at 18 because she was left some in my DGM's will and it had to be in that sort of account.

We have 2 dcs and due to saving monthly from birth, an inheritance and my father ( their grandfather) actively managing the fund they will have upwards to 70k each at 18

Groan.

OP - you're probably better looking at the Money Saving Expert site and forum.

Some in a junior isa before I realised the risks in this.
The rest in a special offer savings account that I need to move somewhere when the interest rate decreases. I was thinking premium bonds but will read the thread for better ideas.

And they'll also explain why Premium Bonds are useless.

It’s a really good thing to consider ahead of time!
I think we’re settled on two approaches to this.
We’re saving money in accounts in DCs name, birthday & Christmas money etc. They will get this at 18 for uni / year out / fun / travel. No more than £3k. It’s in an HSBC My Savings Account at 2.5%.

Then we’re focussing on paying into our pension and mortgage so that once DC are 21+ we’ll have plenty of disposable income (no mortgage, higher income as I’m SAHM at moment) to save quickly to help DC out with deposits / weddings.

This should help stop savings depreciating and the DC burning through money at 18 that could make all the difference to being homeowners at 25+.