Children’s savings and investment wrappers
The four main UK tax-protected accounts you can open in a child’s name. Each has different limits, different tax treatment, and a different age at which the child takes control.
Junior ISA explained — what to open, who can pay in, how to switch
£9,000/yr cap, Cash vs Stocks & Shares, who can contribute, when control passes to the child at 16/18, and how to switch JISA provider without losing the tax wrapper.
Child Trust Fund — finding and unlocking one
Born 2002–2011? You may have a CTF worth £1,000–£3,000+ sitting unclaimed. How to trace it, what to do at 16 and 18, and whether to transfer to a JISA.
Junior SIPP — the £2,880 that becomes £3,600
Pay in £2,880, HMRC adds £720 tax relief automatically. Locked until age 57. The most powerful long-horizon gift a grandparent can make.
Premium Bonds for children — how they really work
NS&I rules for under-16s, who must be registered holder, prize odds, what happens at 16 and 18, and when they make sense vs a Cash JISA.
Family conversation starter packs
Six guided, print-friendly conversation packs — each designed for parent and child to sit down for 20-40 minutes and work through together. Different from the reference guides above — these are facilitation tools for specific family-money moments.
Where does our money come from?
Coins, needs vs wants, saving in a jar. The earliest practical conversation about household money.
Tax explained
Walk through a real payslip together. Why we pay tax. What it funds. The £12,570 Personal Allowance.
Scams, online money and money mules
The most important conversation. 17,000+ UK teens under 21 were caught in mule scams in 2024. Five red flags, what to do if approached.
Your first paycheck
Read the payslip line-by-line. Set up automatic savings. Decide on board contribution. The habits that pay off for decades.
The 18th-birthday money handover
What changes legally. The four-option matrix. The "future-you" exercise. Open the LISA together. Run 3-6 months before the birthday.
What if something happens to mum or dad?
Wills, LPAs, life insurance, the "money map" sheet. Calm and practical, age-appropriate from 10 upward. Reduces fear with information.
Each pack is print-friendly — open the page, click "Print this pack" near the top, and you have an A4 facilitation guide for the kitchen table. CC BY 4.0, free to share or photocopy for classroom or family use.
The rules behind children’s money
Three high-friction areas where parents lose money or break rules they didn’t know existed.
Savings tax for under-18s — the £100 parental rule
How children’s savings interest is taxed, when it’s pulled back to a parent’s tax bill, and why JISAs and grandparent gifts sidestep the trap.
Helping your adult child start a LISA
Open age 18–39. 25% bonus on up to £4k/yr. First home or age 60. How parental gifting into a child’s LISA actually works and the tax-relief multiplier.
Universal Credit when a child starts earning
Child Benefit cutoffs, when teen earnings affect a household’s UC, and the 16-19 Bursary Fund interaction.
The 18th-birthday cliff and beyond
Almost every UK family-finance product has a transition at 18. Some are automatic. Most parents don’t see them coming.
The 18th-birthday money handover
JISA becomes adult ISA. CTF converts. Parental veto on accounts ends. How to prepare your teenager for sudden control of £10k+ and the conversation framework that works.
Inheritance and trusts for children
Bare trusts, discretionary trusts, the 7-year rule, IHT nil-rate-band, gifts from income. When a trust is right, and when a JISA does the job better.
Family money conversations — script library
Scripts for talking about money at ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 18. The "household economy" approach. How to introduce financial concepts without lecturing.
How to use this hub
The guides are designed to be read individually — no need to start at the beginning. If you’re overwhelmed:
- Your child is under 5: Start with the JISA and Junior SIPP guides. Open both. Set monthly direct debits and walk away.
- Born 2002–2011: Trace the Child Trust Fund first. Then decide whether to transfer to a JISA.
- Teen earning their own money: Read the £100 parental rule guide before opening a savings account. Then the Universal Credit guide if applicable.
- Approaching 18: Read the 18th-birthday handover guide six months ahead. Use the conversation framework.
- Family is in IHT territory: Read the trusts and inheritance guide. Consider talking to a regulated adviser before acting.
Disclaimer. These guides explain how UK family-finance rules work for educational purposes. They are not financial or legal advice. Tax rules can change between Budgets. Always check current thresholds on gov.uk and consider talking to a qualified adviser before making decisions involving large sums or complex family structures.
UK Tax Drag (2026). UK family finance hub for parents. Available at: https://kids.uktaxdrag.co.uk/parent-hub.html
Curriculum mapping: see UK Financial Education Curriculum Map (Version 1.0). CC BY 4.0.