Children's Tax Exempt Savings Plan

Absolutely, you may choose the period over which you would like to save for a child you care about, with a minimum term of 10 years and a maximum of 25 years.

Yes, anyone can have a plan or have several plans with the overall maximum amounts of £25 per month or £270 annually. If you would like to open a plan for yourself, please see our Tax Exempt Savings Plan.

We invest in a range of different assets with the aim of providing a higher return in the medium to long-term than is achievable with a bank or building society account. Sheffield Mutual's with-profits fund is managed to provide a low to medium risk investment, appealing to anyone with a more cautious approach to investment. Our investments include property, shares of UK companies, government gilts, corporate bonds, commercial mortgages and cash.

Bonuses are calculated at the appropriate rate based on the final amount (sum assured) not the amount of premium paid and on encashment after five years subject to the conditions outlined below. The policyholder will receive the initial final amount plus bonuses added during the life of the policy.

The proportion held in each of these will vary depending on market conditions. You'll be pleased to know that we seek to adopt an ethical approach to investing and it is our policy not to invest knowingly or directly in industries relating to armaments, tobacco, gambling or pornography. 

Instead of interest, we pay bonuses on all of our with-profits products.

We invest our funds as described above and receive a return on those investments, which can vary from year to year. In March/April we review the returns achieved during the previous calendar year and then declare a bonus rate for each product type. The rate varies depending upon overall investment returns and is not therefore guaranteed to be paid at the same rate, or at all, in future years. However, once bonuses have been added to they will not be taken away, providing the policy runs to maturity or if the child dies before the end of the term.

We also try to ‘smooth’ returns over the life of the policy by retaining some of the investment return in good years to maintain bonus rates in less positive years. However, to ensure the child receives their fair share of returns on the plan over its lifetime, an additional final bonus may be paid on maturity. Payment of this type of bonus depends entirely on investment performance and the rate at which annual bonuses have been added. It is not guaranteed and, if paid, the rate may vary from year to year.

A qualifying policy is basically a life insurance policy whose terms meet a set of certain conditions. These include rules about the policy term, regularity and level of premiums paid and the minimum final amount.

Our Children's TESP is a "qualifying life policy" with a special tax status. This means you cannot pay in more than a total of £3,600 in a 12 month period into any qualifying policies you may have, either with us or any other life company or friendly society (excluding pure protection policies and protected qualifying policies issued before 21 March 2012). 

In the event of death of the policyholder (the child) before the end of the term, we will refund all premiums paid plus interest up to the date of death. Interest is calculated using the Bank of England base rate(s) that have applied during the term of the policy + 1%, though this could be changed in the future by the Society. Notice of any change will be given. If the person proposing the plan were to die, someone else could take over the payments, if there is nobody suitable, the plan could be closed and the payment would be made to the child.

If saving for a child, on maturity or surrender the payment is made to the child as the
beneficiary of the policy.

No, this plan does not include any life cover but we do offer a Tax Exempt Savings Plan with Life Insurance for children aged 11 next birthday. For more information on our life insurance products, please visit the life insurance section on the website. 

Need some further assistance? Our team would be more than happy to provide you with factual information about our products and services, so you can make your own decision about how to proceed. However, we are unable to give any financial advice or recommendations on the suitability of our products. If you are unsure, you should seek advice from a qualified financial adviser, which may incur a fee.

To comply with regulations, the Society will require a copy of the child's birth certificate, passport or a child benefit letter. We will also require confirmation of your identification and address. We’ll aim to do this using an electronic verification system, but reserve the right to ask for appropriate documentation from you, if this is not possible.