Is it worth joining a company ShareSave scheme?

lilac_lady

If you're not a disiplined saver, this is the answer for you.

Jonbvn

As others have said, this really is a "fill yer boots" situation. Share purchase with all of the upside, and none of the down.

dunstonh

It depends on the quality of the shares. However, having these back in the late 80s and early 90s was great. If you do a bit each year you (to fill the max if you can) then you get a maturity a year. Once you get to that point its great.

Just remember to diversify the shares when you can. You dont want to end up having tens or hundreds of thousands in a single company share (like a lot of bank staff did).

Barnetboy

Definitely go for it!! If the shares go up you've got them at a discount price, if not you've got an amount that's been invested for 7 years with tax-free bonuses usually added on.

I did one with my previous employers, ITV, for 5 years, a year before maturity I was looking at getting double the price I paid for the shares...... then the share price plummeted .... and plummeted... eventually they were worth about the price I could have bought them for (sounds wrong) so I took the money which was still a tax free profit.

Ironically, my wife started a 3 year scheme with ITV at the same time as I started my 5 year scheme and she got more of a profit than I did!!

Having said that it's a good idea, go for the most you can afford, maybe involve partner/ parents/ siblings in on the deal unofficially as well. ie they pay you £50 a month or so then more people get to profit. Not sure on the legality of this but I won't tell anyone if you won't.

opinions4u

dunstonh wrote: »

Just remember to diversify the shares when you can. You dont want to end up having tens or hundreds of thousands in a single company share (like a lot of bank staff did).

This is a rather valid point.

When your saving period ends, and your opportunity to buy comes, check back in to the site for more help. Very often buy quick / sell quick / avoid Capital Gains Tax is the best way.

I knew I had a need to diversify and never quite got round to it. Then the Credit Crunch decimated my single company holding!

My planned trip to see The Ashes in Australia is not taking place as a result!

Barnetboy

I think you've hit the nail squarely there...

When your saving period ends, and your opportunity to buy comes, check back in to the site for more help. Very often buy quick / sell quick / avoid Capital Gains Tax is the best way.

I knew I had a need to diversify and never quite got round to it. Then the Credit Crunch decimated my single company holding!

My planned trip to see The Ashes in Australia is not taking place as a result![/QUOTE]

We are always reminded to spread the risk, if you have one big chunk of shares in one company you are at the mercy of the FTSE.

Not sure if it's still the case but there used to be a "Bed & Breakfast" deal where you technically buy the shares with the amount saved then sell them instantly to avoid income tax.

If you do invest in a Sharesave, don't check the share price every day while you are still paying in like I did. This way you get hung up on the vagaries of the market; my co-workers and I used to wonder how we would spend all the money and then with a year left to run the price crashed.

Go for it though, no doubt.