Changing from Junior (under 18) to Main savings accounts - HELP & Ideas required

jamieww

Hi,
My son is about to turn 18 years old.
He has some savings in the form of a
Junior Isa @ 3.25% (approx £11500)
Various Junior Current & Savings Accounts : Nationwaide (flex) / Santander (mini-123) / HSBC (my account)..
Each of the Current / Saving account combinations give reasonable interest between 3% - 5% & his Junior ISA gives 3.25% (total approx £8500)

I am trying to help sort out where to put his money to give him the best interest.
He has approx a total of £20,000

Now my son is autistic & so has little to no concept of money and has no need to spend it except for specific luxuries that he wants (usually games consoles & games) & the money he has has been savings & inheritance over the years.

Interest rates for ISA's seem pointless - his current 3.25% changes to a 0.20% ISA on his 18th birthday!
The Junior current/savings accounts are combined & offer a reasonable return for him & allows him to buy things.

I have looked to see his best options, but other that finding accounts where you have to have a current account with direct debits - which he has none in order to get the better interest rate savings accounts for 1year!

Can anyone suggest where to open savings or combined Current/Savings or ISA - which will give a reasonable return? But bare in mind he has no direct debits & no steady income. He's still at college but can't get a student account as he is on the Independant Living type courses which are never really going to turn into full time level 3 (or above) or university courses...

I would appreciate any ideas or tips....

Many thanks in advance

Mr.Saver

Starting from current accounts:
£2500 5% Nationwide + £1500 5% TSB + 2*£3000 3% TESCO = £4k at 5% and £6k at 3%, this is equivalent to 3.8% on the £10k

Then open regular savings accounts, all of the following are 5%:
£300pm FirstDirect + £250pm Nationwide + £250pm HSBC + £250pm M&S Bank = £1,050/month, or £12,600/year. Use the 1.5% Marcus and TESCO current accounts as the feeder accounts to boost the income. Try to spread out the account opening time, he could earn 5% on more of his money.

As of direct debits, open a couple of Post Office Online Saver accounts will be enough for TESCO current accounts. For other banks, use a mix of PO Online Saver and other saving accounts (e.g.: Birmingham Midshire). If run out of options, consider donate a few £s to charity every month, and/or open investment accounts on % fee platforms that doesn't charge treading fees, pay in minimal (normally £50/month) and invest in government bonds (gilts), withdraw frequently to avoid paying excessive platform fees.

If all of the above are done correctly, he could earn well above the 3.25% he has got from the Junior ISA.

Of course, he should also considering pensions, LISA, investments, etc.