Lloyds Banking Group group. Share schemes

mrbg07546

I am joining Lloyd’s and I have been offered 2 schemes. Share save (which you can’t make a loss) or share match. If you buy 30 shares you get 45.

I presume the share match would be better if I think
Share will go up?? Anything else such as when I want withdrawal?

Would a share scheme reduce my income for child benefit purposes

Alexland

Personally I wouldn't want to hold an individual shares especially financial institutions as they have a tendancy to sink and never recover so I would opt for the no-risk option (assuming there is an advantage) and sell as soon as possible.

In terms of helping with child benefit clawback ask your employer payroll department if the scheme will reduce your adjusted net income.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge

dealer_wins

I would think that the share match at 45 for 30 would be a very acceptable level of risk for most people, considering Lloyds current state compared to a few years ago, but if you are totally risk averse then stick to the sharesave which is nearly risk free (Well unless the government goes bankrupt/revolution etc lol).

ValiantSon

Holding individual shares is very high risk, so I would take an option that allowed me to divest myself of the shares asap.

The share save scheme (I assume) gives you an option price on the shares and a date for maturing, so that you save x amount each month until that date and then have the option to buy at the option price. The hope is that the option price is lower than the price the shares are currently trading at. If that is the case then you sell and make a profit. If it isn't the case you just withdraw your cash savings, accepting that inflation has reduced the value a little.

The matched share scheme is more targeted at those looking to hold the shares. As holding shares in individual companies is not a good investment strategy I would avoid this scheme.

Westie983

Hi,

With Share Match and the Share Save you cant get the shares out for three years at that point you have to pay tax and NI. You can sell after 5 years without paying this.
With Share Match you need to sell the partnership shares in equal number.
With Share Save its either a 3 or 5 year program, with a option price indicated before you subscribe and at the end of the 3 or 5 years you can either get your savings back or buy shares.
Maximum saved over all schemes is £500 a month.

You can find a lot of the FAQs on lloyds internal system which will probably answer a lot of your questions, but yes your monthly income is reduced by the amount you are saving, Share Match has been performing well over the last 6 years I have held them, as the option price was less a few years ago and my £30 bought more shares each month, you have access to all your share schemes so you can see how they are doing.

Weste983

TheBanker

I have a friend who worked for HBOS in a call centre. He'd spent over £1k on HBOS shares through a payroll scheme. In the end his shares were worth just about enough to buy lunch. Then he was made redundant.

Maybe we won't see those days again but he also thought HBOS shares would go up and so did most other people.

It illustrates the high risk nature of investing in single shares.

PeacefulWaters

mrbg07546 wrote: »

I am joining Lloyd’s and I have been offered 2 schemes. Share save (which you can’t make a loss) or share match. If you buy 30 shares you get 45.

I presume the share match would be better if I think
Share will go up?? Anything else such as when I want withdrawal?

Would a share scheme reduce my income for child benefit purposes

My own view is to fill your boots with both schemes. It's £30 that is matched with £45 on the Sharematch scheme.

With Sharematch you get tax relief on your contributions but are tied into holding them for at least five years or you have tax and NI deducted.

Sharesave is usually a three year scheme (but can be five or seven). No tax relief. Assuming the share price at maturity is higher than the option price I'd suggest taking up the options and selling immediately. You don't want all your savings held in your employer's shares.

Remember pension too. Make sure you're contributing 5% minimum to maximise the 13% match from LBG. Their 3% default amount only gets you and 8% match.

mrbg07546

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

My own view is to fill your boots with both schemes. It's £30 that is matched with £45 on the Sharematch scheme.

With Sharematch you get tax relief on your contributions but are tied into holding them for at least five years or you have tax and NI deducted.

Sharesave is usually a three year scheme (but can be five or seven). No tax relief. Assuming the share price at maturity is higher than the option price I'd suggest taking up the options and selling immediately. You don't want all your savings held in your employer's shares.

Remember pension too. Make sure you're contributing 5% minimum to maximise the 13% match from LBG. Their 3% default amount only gets you and 8% match.

yeh. Am defiantly looking to take the pension. Do the above schemes allow me to reduce my income so I get more child benefit(I get 59k if you include the 5100 car allowance) so about 55k after pension. Would anything else other than pension or reducin holidays allow me to keep more child benefit?

worried_jim

I!!!8217;m in both schemes as are most. With sharesave you are guaranteed the amount you paid in but presently I!!!8217;m up approx 70% on the option price and with share match you only need to spend £30 a month to get £75 of shares- mad not to! Make sure you pay the full 5% into the pension scheme to get an additional 13%. Welcome to Lloyds!

mrbg07546

worried_jim wrote: »

I!!!8217;m in both schemes as are most. With sharesave you are guaranteed the amount you paid in but presently I!!!8217;m up approx 70% on the option price and with share match you only need to spend £30 a month to get £75 of shares- mad not to! Make sure you pay the full 5% into the pension scheme to get an additional 13%. Welcome to Lloyds!

Thanks! I come from the “big 4” and joining as a upper E. Can’t wait!