Parents who have lots of spare money each year can build up a hefty portfolio for their children by the age of 18 by maximising the tax-efficient accounts available to them.

Parents of three children can use a combination of starting early, generous contributions, pensions tax relief and investment growth to hand their kids a collective pot worth just in excess of £1 million by the youngest child’s 18th birthday.

Children benefit from generous allowances on tax-efficient accounts, with parents able to save up to £9,000 a year per child in a Junior ISA each tax year, as well as £2,880 per child in a Junior SIPP each year. The SIPP will benefit from pension tax relief, even though the child may not be a taxpayer.

By starting from birth and maxing out the annual allowances for three children up to their 18th birthdays, parents will hit the magic £1 million mark, assuming investment growth of 4% a year after charges.

JUNIOR ISA PAYMENTS

Parents will need to open a Junior ISA when the child is born and can pay in £9,000 per tax year. Over the first 18 years of their child’s life it means parents will end up contributing £162,000 per child into ISAs. However, if we assume investment growth of 4% a year after charges this pot will grow to £240,000 by the age of 18.

The Junior ISA will become the child’s own savings once they hit their 18th birthday, with the account rolling over into an adult ISA, for them to keep invested or choose to spend on further education, a house or the world’s flashiest gap year.

JUNIOR SIPP CONTRIBUTIONS

Parents can pay in up to £2,880 a year into a Junior SIPP, and the Government will add £720 each year, per child, topping up the annual contribution to £3,600. The parents’ £2,880 annual Junior SIPP contributions add up to a total of £51,840 per child over the 18 years. However, this is boosted to almost £65,000 once tax relief is added on and to £96,000 once investment growth of 4% a year is included over the 18 years.

The Junior SIPP money will be tied up until the child’s retirement age, which is currently age 55 but is rising. Even if you made no further contributions after they reached their 18th birthday and the money grew by 4% a year, that £96,000 pension pot would grow to £503,000 by the age of 55.

INVESTING IS KEY

While lots of parents stick to cash for their children’s savings, an 18-year time horizon is the ideal period to take more risk and invest the money. It’s the best way of getting inflation-beating returns over that period and could significantly boost your child’s wealth.

Clearly putting away £11,880 a year per child isn’t attainable for lots of parents, but they can draft in grandparents or other family and friends to help reach that sum, all of which are able to make contributions to a Junior ISA and SIPP.

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