Age 7 government child trust fund payments not being released!!!

RabbitMad

jasmin10 wrote: »

I have read the threads with interest but couldn't see an answer to my query and was hoping that someone may be able to kindly assist.


What would you advise, shall I open up another account for DD and start making payments into that and leave the current CTF as is?

Yes you can transfer it (there is a story about this in the latest news section of the site.)

My "advice*1" would be:

• Stop contributing to the CTF
• Pay into another child friendly account instead (prehaps halifax regular saver at 6%)

I say this as its free from income tax anyway if you fill in an R85 form*2, if you need the money before the child is 18 you can get at it, you can move it between accounts as you wish, a future government couldn't pass a law stating that the money has to be used for X purpose (such as education fees) like people worry they could with CTF. The only down side I can see to this is that when the child gets to 18 they are supposed to be able to roll the whole CTF into an ISA so they could miss out on putting a lot of savings beyond income tax.

I personally put my sprogs CTFs into share accounts and add a modest amount monthly. The reason for this is it is awkward to invest in the stock market for children otherwise.

*1 - this is not advice as there are stupid regulation about who can and can't give advice in relation to finacial products.
*2 - if the income generated on gifts to children from a single parent is greater than £100 it is treated as the parents income for tax purposes, if the childs income exceeds £6,000 odd (the personal allowance) it is taxed as per normal. However if either of these are likely to happen the chances are you would not be so worried about stock market based investments.

RabbitMad

AMILLIONDOLLARS wrote: »

That's a bit confusing, on that basis if you are pregnant and due before the 31st December 2010, you can get the CTF if you apply before the 1st August 2010. Could you please clarify.

AMD

I think its based upon the date of birth of the thing.

If your child is born on 31st dec I assume you get the voucher for £50, if its born on 1st jan you get zilch.

Similar cut of on the august date.

From memory you get the voucher automatically after you've applied for Child Benefit.

RabbitMad

AMILLIONDOLLARS wrote: »

Axing this trust will slowly degrade the value of the trusts that have already been set up, there will be no new investment into it, and rates will slowly fall to nothing for those already tied in, admin fees will slowly eat away at the rest of the capital left in.

Don't forget these funds are reliant on the stockmarket and other investments arms. All in all by the time your little one get his/her money on the fund, there will be very little left. A complete waste of time! The only winners were those people in the stockmarket, now they are going to have to find the money elsewhere to fund their lifestyle and a good thing too.

AMD

Your comment really goes to show how financially iliterate the majority of us are.

The 2 types of CTF are:

Cash ie bank accounts. Now the rates might be reduced or eaten away at by banks and building societies like happened to some TOISAs

Shares. These are stockmarket based. The majority are just sub fund of existing passive funds. In stakeholder account the charges are restricted to 1.5% for the 1st 10 years then 1% there after. The non stakeholder ones are just investing in a partitioned off sub fund of a bigger fund. there charges on these aren't restricted but the growth of the fund is not effected if no new money comes in the the little partitioned off section.

If you added no money to either type of CFT the minimum cash amount the little one would get would be £250 (if the bank offered zero interest)
on the shares account who knows as its dependant upon performance but assuming no growth the charges would amount to a little over £50 accross the 18 years so £200 returned, if you got 4% growth then the little one would get £400.

Paul_Herring

ultrawomble wrote: »

Gordon_the_Moron wrote:

I´m on little more than the minimum wage and I voted Conservative and wish they would go faster not slower in sorting out the financial mess Labour have left them.

Just think, if it wasn't for Labour there wouldn't be a minimum wage.

Or a financial mess.

Gordon_the_Moron

ultrawomble wrote: »

Just think, if it wasn't for Labour there wouldn't be a minimum wage.

I´m not saying everything one or other party does is good or bad, I can´t see the current coalition government abolishing the minimum wage as it was one of Labour´s better ideas. If it wasn´t for Labour we would not have an incummbent ConDem nation that are having to make enormous cuts to save the country from bankruptcy.

For the record I used to be a member of the Conservative party and when David Cameron became leader I cut my membership card up and posted it back to them saying "I would like to congratulate my party on finally electing a leader for whom I will not vote" I can´t stand the man, I didn´t keep to my word of not voting for him though as he is less bad than any of the alternatives.

cazanwood

Sorry if this offends anybody but I hope this is the first on many cuts the government make on giving away tax payers money. I for one am fed up of working to pay for others. I am sure i'm not the only one!!!

seeya23

cazanwood wrote: »

Sorry if this offends anybody but I hope this is the first on many cuts the government make on giving away tax payers money. I for one am fed up of working to pay for others. I am sure i'm not the only one!!!

it.s would be like you to get rid of the nhs as well

cazanwood

seeya23 wrote: »

it.s would be like you to get rid of the nhs as well

Actually NO I WORK for the NHS, just think people shouldn't be having children if they can't look after them themselves financially. I actually believe there are some good benefits out there just not these ones!!

POPPYOSCAR

seeya23 wrote: »

it.s would be like you to get rid of the nhs as well

What has this got to do with the NHS?????

ultrawomble

cazanwood wrote: »

just think people shouldn't be having children if they can't look after them themselves financially.

The CTF voucher belongs to the child. That means the parent(s) cannot spend it. It is of no benefit to them. It will only be of benefit to the child 18 years hence.