TISA timely reminders to pregnant mothers
Making ends meet is seldom easy. For parents and parents-to-be financial management can be a difficult balancing act, on the one hand juggling cash for today’s immediate priorities, on the other, setting aside money to build funds for bigger commitments in the future.
TISA recommends that mothers-to-be:
First – for those with babies expected on or after 6 April 2009, to make sure they claim the £190 Health in Pregnancy Grant – (the grant is easy to claim, does not depend on household income, is intended to help all mothers stay fit and healthy in pregnancy, but can be spent or saved as they choose.)
Second – to remember to start a Child Trust Fund soon after the child is born.
Tony Vine-Lott TISA director general says:
“The financial ‘squeeze’ is making life difficult for many families. The Pregnancy Grant is a one-off payment that will help mothers at an expensive time, but it is also important to look ahead too.”
“Increasingly parents are committing to save for their children’s futures using a Child Trust Fund, but I would like to encourage even more – grandparents, aunts and uncles, family friends too – to put regular amounts into Child Trust Funds.”
TISA wants to remind parents and their families that every eligible child could benefit from tax free saving of £1200 per year to build into a nest egg for them when they reach 18 years of age.
He continued:
“Children need to learn early on the value of saving for the bigger commitments that lie ahead. A whole generation seems to have missed out on this message and as a result, many – far too many – have a loan or credit card debt hanging like a millstone around their necks.”
For further information, please contact:
Steve Radford, Cauldron Consulting
Tel: 020 3178 7238, Mobile: 07889 903786
Email: steve.radford@cauldron-consulting.com
Tony Vine-Lott, Director General, TISA
Tel: 01372 374728, Mobile: 07790 006108
Email: tony.vine-lott@tisa.uk.com
Or visit:TISA’s website: www.tisa.uk.com
Email enquiries to: enquiries@tisa.uk.com
Notes for Editors
The Tax Incentivised Savings Association (TISA)
TISA is the premier trade association in the UK retail savings and investment industry. By engaging with member firms, government, political parties, regulators and consumer groups TISA’s ultimate goal is always to further consumers’ best interests. It seeks to improve the range, features and quality of savings and investment schemes available whilst at the same time encouraging more people to save for their long term financial security and peace of mind.
Uniquely, TISA is able to articulate the opinions of the whole savings and investments marketplace through its membership comprising over 120 member firms involved in the supply or distribution of products to the sector and its consumer interest. TISA’s remit extends across the broad spectrum of government sponsored savings and investment vehicles including:
• Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
• Child Trust Funds (CTFs)
• Saving Gateway
• Personal Pensions
• Investment Bonds
• Employer based pension schemes
• Wraps and platforms
• Other consumer-centric savings schemes and initiatives.
HM Government uses TISA’s market knowledge and ability to represent the views of both the savings and investments industry and consumers to help it to its policy in this area. Recent TISA successes include improvements to the ISA, the regime in which ISAs operate and simplification of the CTF.
Health in Pregnancy Grant
Further information can be obtained at: http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/money4mum2be/
Child Trust Funds
Child Trust Funds are savings and investment accounts for children designed to provide them with a nest egg to start their adult life. Children born on or after 1 September 2002 are eligible to receive a £250 voucher to start their account. This belongs to the child and may not be accessed by them until they are 18.
Further information is available from: http://www.childtrustfund.gov.uk/.
TISA is the leading trade body for CTFs and tax incentivised savings. It has worked with the Government to develop and implement the CTF. TISA compiles a quarterly survey from data supplied by CTF providers representing 65% of all CTF accounts.
Further information is available from: http://www.tisa.uk.com/