We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

CTF discussion area

Options
1171820222358

Comments

  • I have not yet open a CTF account for my baby, but this is not my main question. My son has inherited £3000 from my Grandmother who did not want him to access the money until he is 18yrs old. My Father wants to open a savings account for him and look after the account book until he is 18, when he will be the one to tell him the good news! However, if he needs the money for something important in the meantime, my father wants him to be able to access the money before 18 (CTF is out of the question then).

    Where should we put the money for the best interest... we want to be able to put it in one account and not have to change it around.

    Thanks for reading ... looking forward to your replies :xmassign:
  • If you don't want to change then it then I'd go for a top building society with a good track record like Nationwide, Yorkshire or West Bromwich - all currently paying around 4.75-4.8%.

    If you want the best rate now and a guaranteed excellent rate for three years then the Scarborough Children's Bond will pay you Bank Base Rate +1% (currently = 5.5% gross) which is variable but not at the Scabbyborough's discretion.

    That's probably £21 extra over three years. And Scarborough MIGHT have a decent follow up offer, or they might not. It's your call on the potential hassle factor v benefit.
  • cloud_dog
    cloud_dog Posts: 6,321 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Mandella

    It may not be as straight forward as RI suggests, although I'm no expert.

    Usually what happens when you open a savings account on behalf of your child, the account is opened in their name with you as the named gardian/'trustee' (for legal reasons). I think, usually at aged 7 the account becomes the property of the named child, and I beleive technically you no longer have control over the account.

    As an example you may find that the first statement after the childs 7th birthday is addressed directly in their name (different societys manage things differently), therefore 'hiding' the account from the child is something which is probably best avoided.

    I think you need to set up a simple 'trust' account although I have not investigated what this would entail I'm affraid.

    cloud_dog
    Personal Responsibility - Sad but True :D

    Sometimes.... I am like a dog with a bone
  • seth
    seth Posts: 1,291 Forumite
    I have a CTF voucher for my kid,not sure where I've left it :)

    I think it expires soon (from memory)

    I've no faith in the Gov. investmentent like the CTF and do not trust them with addtional contributions.

    So my questions are

    1)How can I get a replacement voucher?
    2)Should I worry about misssing the voucher expiry? As I understand it if I do nothing the Gov. will open something on my kids behalf, think this is right?
    3)Is it worth worring about? I'm just after my kids £250 + what its worth in years to come
    4)Anyone used the CFT helpline, any good? Also a geographic number for the helpline?

    Thanks.

    Seth.
    Seth.
  • darbooka
    darbooka Posts: 489 Forumite
    The helpline is surprising fantastic and any bank or buildign society CTF dept should be able to advise you as to how to obtain the replacement voucher, considering that they are all eager that you will deposit it with them.
  • jellyhead
    jellyhead Posts: 21,555 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    i didn't know what to do with mine, so i put it in the asda one. i set up a £5 a month direct debit, did it all online and was sent a £30 george card which i used to pay for groceries last week at the main asda tills. the direct debit took a while to set up and they'd sent me my £30 card after only taking one lot of £5. worth a try? i can't find anything in writing about charges though, all i can find is a 1.5% maximum charge. does anyone know anything more about it? if i transfer it now after only a few months will we get hit by massive charges? i opened the account while woolly-headad after the birth but have since thought about it and i want a savings account for it instead, and don't want to pay any extra into the ctf so i'm looking at changing it.
    52% tight
  • I have one child who is entitlted to the CTF and one who isn't, but I have not seen any products that mirror the stakeholder funds that I can open for my daughter. Does such a product exist? I would have thought there must be many parents in the same situation as myself.
  • We have our CTF voucher from the government, we need to pay this in to one of the accounts which I think I can handle. My query isnt really about CTFs though, our son is 10 weeks old we have decided that I am not going to return to work for a few years as I believe its best for him to have both parents around until he at least goes to school full time. SO now we are on benefits. Problem we now have is my fiancés nan died last year and left some money, if we have the money we will have to declare it and lose our benefits. It is a sum of £8,000 at the moment and so wanted to pay it in to a trust fund for our son. The CTF only allow a certain amount to be paid in per year and a lot of the other childrens accounts only allow a maximum amount too - we want to try and get it so we dont have to declare his money but does anyone know how we can get round this problem? Any advice much appreciated.
  • ViksB
    ViksB Posts: 332 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Is there anyway you could invest in a building society CTF and then possibly get windfall shares??
  • ViksB wrote:
    Is there anyway you could invest in a building society CTF and then possibly get windfall shares??
    It's possible. And I like the idea of using the cash route. If you are thinking on these lines you need to consider a large society like Britannia.

    There's nothing on the horizon at the moment, but the CTF is meant to be a long term investment ;).

    The last couple of demutualisations - Birmingham Midshires and Bradford & Bingley - did extend windfalls to children (to all children in B&B's case), so the precedent is there.

    A smaller society like Ipswich might well be taken over by a larger society like Britannia - maybe triggering a small "mini" windfall of say £50 gross. When this has happened societies tend to be mean and deprive children of payouts e.g. when Portman took over the Staffordshire.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.