You can now give your new baby a great start in life, with Bristol Credit Union.
Using your voucher from the government, and topping up the account when you can, you could build up a fund that will give your child a helping hand with driving lessons, a first car, a university education, or even the deposit on a house.
Any child born on or after 1st September 2002, living in the UK and registered for Child Benefit receives a Child Trust Fund (CTF) voucher from HM Revenue & Customs for at least £250.
You can use this voucher easily with Bristol Credit Union. Just complete a short application form and bring it to us with the voucher. We do the rest of the work, and then your child will have a savings account worth at least £250 plus interest until they are 18 - see the table below for how quickly the money can build up. Top it up regularly and by the time they’re 18 it could be worth thousands – you, family and friends can all deposit money, up to £1,200 per year tax-free.
Bristol Credit Union is owned and run by members (that’s you and people like you), with no-one else profiting from our services. We’re committed to providing fair financial services for everyone in Bristol, no matter how rich or poor, no matter where they live. Giving a financial boost to the next generation is very important to us.
Our cash savings Child Trust Fund is a long term risk free deposit account. When your child is 18 they get the money deposited plus additional interest payments. Our Child Trust Fund offers:
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Safe, local savings
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Competitive interest rate
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Transfer from other providers
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Regular top up payments or save when you can – no minimum amount
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Choice of easy deposit methods, including standing order and Paypoint
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No set-up, closure or management fees
There are three types of CTF account available. The other types of Child Trust Fund are stakeholder and non-stakeholder investment accounts, usually linked to the stock market, where the value can go up or down, making them more risky though with the potential to offer greater returns.
Interest rates on our cash savings Child Trust Fund account are set by the Board of Directors, and interest is paid once every year. Based on our very competitive current rate of 2.5% this could give you:
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£250 voucher only… |
£389.59 |
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£250 voucher + £2.50 per week/£10 per month top up… |
£3,111.15 |
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£250 voucher + £25 per week/£100 per month top up… |
£27,605.22 |
The returns shown are approximate, over 18 years. Rates variable and regularly reviewed by the Board.
If you've already had your voucher, or been allocated an account by the government, why not transfer it to Bristol Credit Union. It's easy to transfer in, just ask for the forms or download them below and drop them back to the office...
Stakeholder Child Trust Fund Account
A stakeholder investment-based account is available from Scottish Friendly Assurance. Payments into their stakeholder Child Trust Fund account buy shares in their Managed Growth Fund, which invests in company shares, government bonds and cash with the aim of providing long term capital growth. Charges on the account are capped at 1.5% per year.
The Stakeholder fund is not guaranteed and there is a chance that the fund may not be worth as much as the value of contributions made to the account.
But it is possible that over the long term contributing to an account which invests in stocks and shares will produce a higher return than depositing money in a cash account. As a stakeholder account it is subject to rules which the Government has made to reduce the risk of investing in shares. You can get further details of the Scottish Friendly Assurance Child Trust Fund account by ‘phoning 0800 955 5995 or by logging on to their website: www.scottishfriendly.co.uk/abcul/child-trust-fund/
Download Child Trust Fund - voucher (28.1kb)