Is this legal .

alfmurph

Struggling with this £5k tax free allowance on savings and investments .
I am in the basic rate taxpayer range between the £17k and £50  so i can earn £1K interest on my savings without paying tax .
I have enough savings to almost reach that limit .
My father has dementia and i have power of attorney .
He has £50k in a bank account at 0.25% so i need to fix this .
Could i open an online account in his name but using my e-mail and password so i can open , transfer or close as necessary .
He only has pensions of around £10k plus 90 pounds weekly attendance allowance .
He lives with me so no bills for him .
I am obviously trying not to put the account in my name for the tax i would then pay .
Any advice please .

xylophone

Could i open an online account in his name but using my e-mail and password so i can open , transfer or close as necessary .

You must make it clear to any provider that you are opening the account as PoA for your father.

This will necessitate registering the PoA with the provider.

Examples

https://www.alrayanbank.co.uk/helping-someone-manage-their-accounts

https://community.tescobank.com/content/3887-How-do-I-register-my-power-of-attorneyduputyship-order-with-Tesco-Bank

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1583859/Best-savings-rates-General-savings-Internet-branch.html

25_Years_On

Dubious at best. This is what I think and I don't know if I'm right or wrong. You're not just opening an account in his name with your money, you are gifting him the money and of course that money has to be used to his benefit. And lets say you take his money back and then he has to go into care I think that would be a deprivation of assets. In the worst case scenario someone works it out, you get reported and are stripped of the PoA.

Voyager2002

25_Years_On said:

Dubious at best. This is what I think and I don't know if I'm right or wrong. You're not just opening an account in his name with your money, you are gifting him the money and of course that money has to be used to his benefit. And lets say you take his money back and then he has to go into care I think that would be a deprivation of assets. In the worst case scenario someone works it out, you get reported and are stripped of the PoA.

Exept that the OP wants to find a better home for his father's savings, which are currently earning a derisory rate of interest. So there is no question of a gift: the money belongs to the father and will continue to belong to him so of course must be used for his benefit.

Daliah

alfmurph said:

Could i open an online account in his name but using my e-mail and password so i can open , transfer or close as necessary .

You can easily set up an email account in your father's name, to keep everything to do with his affairs separate from your own.

Whether you can open a savings account, online or in person, under POA depends on the terms of the savings provider.

alfmurph

POA is obviously an obstacle to this idea .
Would it be easier to stay with his present bank where poa is in place and change his current account to 1 year fix at 2 % .
Not the best rate but better than 0.25% .
Another question - if i can open ,withdraw , transfer etc from his current account can i do same thing with a fix please .
Reading xylophone.s post al rayan bank gives you very limited access .

masonic

alfmurph said:

POA is obviously an obstacle to this idea .
Would it be easier to stay with his present bank where poa is in place and change his current account to 1 year fix at 2 % .
Not the best rate but better than 0.25% .
Another question - if i can open ,withdraw , transfer etc from his current account can i do same thing with a fix please .
Reading xylophone.s post al rayan bank gives you very limited access .

Fixed means fixed. It would be best to assume the money will be locked up until the account matures. Some accounts may permit access in some limited (emergency) circumstances, but this is not the norm. It would be unwise to fix savings that may be needed during the term of the account. FIxing at 2% when you could potentially enjoy easy access at just a few fractions of a percent less seems like a poor trade-off. While there is some paperwork involved in using the POA, it seems like it would be worth it to get access to something competitive.

Vortigern

Banks vary in what they offer on PoA accounts.
Halifax: Opened account in branch. Operated account online, with a separate user ID from my own.
Santander: Opened in branch, operated online alongside my own account, using my own UID.
Leeds BS: opened and operated in branch only.
NS&I and Paragon: Opened by post, operated online.

That's from my own experience, but may be a little out-of-date.

Bobziz

Vortigern said:

Banks vary in what they offer on PoA accounts.
Halifax: Opened account in branch. Operated account online, with a separate user ID from my own.
Santander: Opened in branch, operated online alongside my own account, using my own UID.
Leeds BS: opened and operated in branch only.
NS&I and Paragon: Opened by post, operated online.

That's from my own experience, but may be a little out-of-date.

Nationwide are pretty good too in my experience. Currently offering a triple access account at 1.5%.

Malthusian

The money could be needed at short notice if his care needs increase, so I would not tie up the money for any length of time.
Given the marginal benefit of moving the money around, it would be entirely justifiable to keep his affairs simple and keep it in the current account, or open an easy-access savings account with his current bank.

xylophone

Would it be easier to stay with his present bank where poa is in place and change his current account to 1 year fix at 2 % .

I'd leave the current account in place for his day to day needs and for receipt of his pension (s) benefits etc.

It is not easy to get out of a fixed rate account.

I'd have though it would be worth going to the trouble of registering the PoA with a provider offering a better rate  - you might try Tesco?