Got any questions on investing and saving? Ask the experts at Legal & General

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Savings or investing? Cash ISAs or stocks and shares ISAs? Should you invest for yourself or your children…...it’s safe to say there is a fair amount to think about when it comes to your money and it can be difficult to sift through all the information out there to find out what you really need to know. We conducted a survey last year with over 1,500 MNers & GNers and found that 18% would like to invest their money but don’t know the best way to do so and 10% don’t know the best way to save their money. With that in mind, Legal & General are here to answer any questions you have around savings and investments.

Here is some more information on Helena Morrissey from Legal & General: “Helena Morrissey DBE, Head of Personal Investing. Helena joined Legal & General in 2017 as Head of Personal Investing and has been leading the drive to ensure that the benefits of investing are better understood and widely available, with a particular focus on improving women’s financial wellbeing. Prior to joining Legal & General Helena was CEO of Newton Investment Management.”

Here is what Legal & General have to say: “A nudge in the right direction can often kick start a saving habit that can help with a more secure financial future. Getting started even with a little and often for you and/or your children can really pay off over the long term. It’s never too late to start saving and investing, so if you haven’t started yet what’s stopping you?”

Whether you have questions about the best way to begin investing, or creating an ISA account, how much you should be saving or any questions around how to save for your child’s future, ask them on the thread below and we will choose 10 for Helena to answer.

Everyone who posts their question on the thread below will be entered into a prize draw where 3 MNers will win a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw.
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Open 11/02/19 to 25/02/19. To enter please post on the thread below. One entry per person. Three prizes to be won: £100 voucher of winner’s choice chosen by random draw performed by computer process.

The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and any income from them is not guaranteed.
Legal & General (Unit Trust Managers) Limited.

Is it better to have savings in accounts or property?

My children get £10 per week pocket money. Should I encourage them to save some of this each week and what would be your suggestion?

I’m a SAHP with no income, what should I be doing about a pension?

My children have HSBC Child Trust Funds (stakeholder rather than cash) which we pay into monthly. I am uncertain whether I should be transferring these to Junior ISA accounts? We intend using the funds for their first car/house.

On a separate point, I pay into the local government pension scheme - my contribution rate is 6.5% (max) and employer is 19.8%. I also pay into a S&S ISA which I plan to draw an income from at 60 until my pension is payable (I also have an old Deferred Benefit pension payable from 60 which will supplement). I am wondering if I should be looking at AVC’s instead?

Thank you.

Are there any children's accounts that my daughter can use where she can see her savings increase?
I recall at school a bank coming in and me putting 50p/£1 per week away and loving it increasing. Is there anything similar for children around at all these days?

With the interest rate on savings so low, can you give me any good reasons why I should have savings accounts for my children rather than premium bonds?

Is there a minimum amount that is worth investing in a stocks and shares Isa? And how long should I be prepared to invest to see a profit?

Thank you

I want to invest £30 - £50 a month in a savings scheme for my 1 month old son, so he has a lump sum at 18 years to help with uni or travel or driving lessons etc. I realise there are lots of considerations around interest rates and age of access... but out of Junior savings account, Junior ISA or Junior stocks and shares ISA, which option would give the biggest and safest return over a 18 year period? TIA

I want to put aside some savings for DS2, who is autistic and likely to rely on disability benefits in the future. How should I do this in the best way to make sure it doesn't just end up making him ineligible for benefits?

Is there a savings account that’s similar to the save to buy scheme that’s for children? So we save when they are children and it’s there for them when they reach 18 or 21 but just for a house buy? The save to buy is for low incomes so one that’s for any income would be good.
Thanks

I have another question- what saving account do you recommend for children? I want to save as much as possible.

Are offset mortgages worth while or would I be better to pay my mortgage off early? Also, if I save for my children, in their own names, are they legally allowed to access it when they reach a certain age?

Can I open a children's account for my god daughter, and if so what do I need to be able to do it? Ideally I'm hoping I can do it without telling her parents at first, until I see what I can manage to put away each month for her

My daughter has just got her first Saturday job. She’s great at saving up to buy a specific item she wants but is it worth encouraging her to also save a portion for a non specific “future” and if so, any tips on doing this! Thanks

We're expecting our first baby this summer and would very much like to start putting money aside for their future straight away. Other family members may also wish to contribute.

As well as being interested in the points from PPs about whether, specifically for v young children, ISAs etc are worth it at all (as opposed to premium bonds) and the best vehicles if so (CTF, ISA etc) could you help us think about conditions of access to the money please and what is best?

For example, are there financial/interest rate advantages to locking the savings away until the child can access these at 18+? If we were to retain parental access to the sums somehow, for example, in case the child needed expensive medical treatment, would we be undermining the potential returns (as with most long term vs instant access accounts)?

Obviously we wouldn't touch the child's savings unless there was an absolute emergency! But in trying to factor in what is, hopefully, a remote risk, could we be substantially undermining the size of the return on the child's savings? Would insuring for those risks be more prudent?

Many thanks in advance!

We don't have any savings at all. I don't know where to begin. When my daughter goes to school in September we should definitely have a little more disposable income. Do I need an ISA or similar or is it better to start of small and simple?

I have such little returns on my ISA what are my other options for relatively secure savings?

What might you advise a woman in her fifties who is on the brink of going through a divorce and who has a very small pension, two children and £10k to invest?

My child has a stocks and shares fund which has moved to a new provider and is now not performing well (it has lost money this year). We'll need to access it in 5 years time to help with university costs. Is it best to leave it where it is in hope of a recovery (unlikely with Brexit?) or move it to a child savings account?

I have paid off my mortgage and have £98,000 in an ISA, the rate is rubbish. How am I best to invest it on low risk for 3-5 years?

Is it better to overpay the mortgage to knock a few years off or save the money?

Is it wise to put my kids savings in an ISA what if something happens and they needed to acess it but couldn't?

I'm 39. Is it worthwhile opening a savings LISA? Are they available with many banks?

We have some old ISA's that we no longer use - we emptied them out and just stopped saving into them. I'm wondering whether we could/should start using those same ones again or whether it is better to start afresh. Would we be able to open a new ISA nowadays even though we have some old unused accounts? Is there a good basic guide to ISA's anywhere online as a starting point? We used to be familiar with all the rules etc but it was well over 10 years ago that we stopped using them so have totally forgotten everything there is to know about ISA's.