Junior ISA

A Junior ISA must be opened by the child’s parent, guardian or person with parental responsibility. But anyone can pay into it by setting up a Direct Debit or adding lump sums.

Up until the age of 16, the account is managed by the parent or guardian. After that, the child can apply to take responsibility although anyone can still add to the plan. Once the child turns 18 they can access the money in the account. No one else can access the savings as the Junior ISA is held in the child’s name.

Children aged 16 and 17 can open a JISA themselves.

Your child can have a Cash Junior ISA, a Stocks and Shares Junior ISA, or both.

If they have both, you must still stay within the annual Junior ISA allowance every year. You don’t get two allowances because you have two ISAs.

A Junior ISA is also different to an adult ISA, where adult ISAs allow you to have more than one ISA account from different tax years, your child can only hold one cash Junior ISA and one stocks and shares Junior ISA. So if your child already has £5,000 invested in a stocks and shares Junior ISA and you would like to open a new stocks and shares Junior ISA with Foresters, you will need to transfer the £5,000 into the new plan.

Transfers into a Stocks and Shares Junior ISA with Foresters Friendly Society will be managed on your behalf, making the process as easy as possible. Just complete the online application, which includes a Transfer request form to be downloaded. Complete and return this to us and we will then liaise with your current provider on your behalf to transfer the funds across.

Unfortunately it’s not possible for your child to hold a Child Trust Fund (CTF) and a Junior ISA. However, the CTF can be transferred into the Junior ISA, as can another Junior ISA held with another provider. If you’d like to transfer a CTF or Junior ISA, all you need to do is select the Transfer option in our online application, which includes a Transfer request form.

There is an Annual Management Charge of 2% of the value of your Junior ISA which covers the costs of administering the Junior ISA for you. Charges are deducted upfront before any bonuses are declared, so there are no additional charges for you to pay.

It is possible that the charge could change in the future, but Foresters Friendly Society promise it will never exceed 3% of the value of your Junior ISA in any one year. Take a moment to read the relevant Junior ISA Key Information Document and Important Information for more information about charges.

Your money is invested in Foresters Friendly Society’s consistently well performing With Profits Order Insurance Fund. Depending on how the fund performs, we aim to add annual bonuses and a final bonus to your child’s Junior ISA. This is to boost their plan’s value. The addition of bonuses is not guaranteed.

You’ve worked hard for the money you invest, so extra good care is taken with it. That’s why your money is spread across a number of different types of investments to help minimise risk and increase the potential returns. By doing this your money can benefit from exposure to a range of asset classes which may include equities (company shares), fixed interest bonds (government and company), property and cash.

As a friendly society, it’s particularly important to Foresters that your money is managed in an ethical and responsible way. As a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) it demonstrates their commitment to responsible investment, to reducing their impact on the environment and mitigating climate change risk in their investment portfolios.

When you open a plan, you can be confident that investing with Foresters means your money will be invested in a trustworthy and environmentally conscious way. The PRI is the world’s leading supporter of responsible investment and promotes a better understanding of the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

Find out more about the 6 PRI principles Foresters have signed up to here.

As your money is invested in the Foresters Friendly Society Order Insurance with profits Fund, rather than paying interest the value of your child’s Junior ISA has the potential to grow through the addition of bonuses. What growth the Junior ISA receives will depend on how well the fund performs.

The following annual bonus rates have been declared for the Junior ISA:

The annual bonus rate is applied to how much you have invested plus any annual bonuses that have been previously added.

Please remember that bonuses are not guaranteed. Your child may also not get back the full amount originally invested, dependent on the investment conditions at withdrawal.

Please read Foresters Friendly Society’s Principles and Practices of Financial Management (PPFM) to find out more about the addition of bonuses and how we manage our fund.

The product design may vary to best meet the needs of policyholders which may affect the timing and size of future bonuses. Therefore the bonus rate provided above is for information purposes only and should not be considered an indication of likely future performance.

Unfortunately not. The Junior ISA is designed for long-term growth and legislation states that no one can access the funds before the child turns 18.

Once your child turns 18 they will be able to access their Junior ISA savings. Their lump sum can either continue to be invested as an adult ISA, or the money can be released and used for whatever they need it for. University fees, for example, saving towards a deposit on a house, or even buying their first car.

As the plan is held in the child’s name and is designed to allow anyone to pay into it, the Junior ISA will continue until the child turns 18.

Of course. Once your application is accepted you will receive a statutory notice of your right to cancel.  At this point you have 30 days from the commencement date of the Junior ISA, or the date the notice is received, whichever is later, in which to change your mind.

For more information please see the Important Information document.

If you’re unsure if this plan is suitable for your child, then you should seek advice from a Financial Adviser. Please be aware that you may have to pay for this advice.