Autumn Regular Savings Offer
Receive a £25 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card when you open a new Junior before 31st October 2024.
Quote promo code AUTUMN24 – terms and conditions apply.
NOTE: Children with a Child Trust Fund (CTF) cannot have a Junior ISA as well as a CTF unless the CTF is transferred to a Junior ISA with us. See ‘ISA Transfers’ below.
Making regular savings in a Junior ISA is a fantastic way to put something aside for a child’s future. Safe in the knowledge that the ISA funds must go to the child.
You can save up to £9,000 a year tax-free, by either committing to regular monthly contributions (min £30 per month) or investing a lump sum (min £1,500) or a combination of both. Top ups of at least £500 are accepted in addition to regular monthly contributions.
Anyone, such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, godparents or family friends can pay into a Junior ISA for a child as long as they have the parent'(s) or guardian'(s) consent. With a low start contribution of £30 per month, and the Metfriendly Escalator – an easy way to build up your savings with contributions automatically increasing each year, until you tell us to stop.
With annual bonuses and a potential final bonus after three complete tax years investment you’ll be providing an important financial boost to a child just when they may need it the most.
Competitive Returns
- premiums received during tax year 6th April 2024 – 5th April 2025 will receive a guaranteed annual bonus of 1.5% per annum for the first tax year of the plan
- with the annual bonus rate for every subsequent tax year set by the Board before the end of the calendar year
- the plan will be eligible, after three complete tax years, for a final bonus on encashment
- the savings can then be left to grow, or transferred, or withdrawn at any time after age 18
Flexibility
- one plan for all types of investment – monthly contributions, lump sums or a combination of both.
- you can vary your monthly contributions or add a lump sum at any time (up to a child’s Personal ISA allowance)
- transfers from Child Trust Funds or other Junior ISA providers permitted by using our transfer forms
- you can stop and restart your monthly contributions at any time
- all funds invested for at least 24 months can be transferred into another Junior ISA (or withdrawn if the child is 18 or over) with no penalty
Low Starting Premium
- save for a child’s future from just £30 a month, with flexibility to add occasional lump sums
- or open the plan with a one-off investment of at least £1,500
Metfriendly Escalator and low start premiums
- Metfriendly Escalator allows you to build up your savings, with contributions automatically increasing each year, until you tell us to stop
- the increase will take place each April starting in the following calendar year. For example, if you start your plan at £30 per month from September, and set the escalator at £20, your monthly contributions will automatically increase to £50 per month the next April, and by £20 each year afterwards
- you can still vary, add a lump sum, stop or restart your monthly contributions at any time
Junior ISA
What returns might I expect from this plan?
This plan has only been offered since 2016 and therefore has no ‘past performance’ to show.
However, an indication of future returns can be guided by the guaranteed annual bonus of 1.5% until 5th April 2025. This rate applies only for amounts invested in tax year 2024/25.
How does the Metfriendly Junior ISA work?
Metfriendly Junior ISAs – like our other tax exempt products – enjoy higher rates of bonus and therefore higher returns than our traditional savings products, as we do not have to pay any tax on the interest and capital gains we make on the money you invest with us.
The Junior ISA currently has a maximum yearly limit of £9,000.
It can be opened with regular contributions (min £30pm) or a lump sum investment of a minimum of £1,500. Ad-hoc top up contributions can also be made of at least £500.
For those who do not want to commit to regular contributions but still want to save for a child, a Junior ISA can also be opened with a lump sum investment of £1,500.
ISAs are also much more flexible than other forms of saving:
- You can mix lump sums with regular savings.
- You can start, stop or adjust contributions when you wish.
- You can transfer Junior ISAs from one provider to another.
- Each eligible child can have two types of Junior ISA at the same time, a Cash Junior ISA and/or a Stocks and Shares Junior ISA.
- You can choose a different provider for each type.
- There is a limit on the amount of money you can pay into the Junior ISA(s) in any one tax year namely, currently an overall maximum of £9,000 per tax year, split between the two types of ISA in any proportion.
- The Metfriendly Junior ISA is a Stocks & Shares Junior ISA, not a Cash Junior ISA, so you can invest in a Cash Junior ISA elsewhere if you wish.
- At age 16 the child is legally responsible for their own savings and may become the ‘Registered Contact’ and will receive all correspondence relating to their plan. We will write to the child around their 16th birthday to inform them of this, and we will also ask for their National Insurance Number. We will inform you beforehand of our intention and obligation to do this.
Who can apply for a Metfriendly Junior ISA?
To apply, you must be aged 16 years or over, and either of the following:
- have parental responsibility for the child under 16 years of age, or
- be the child yourself if aged 16 or 17
Meaning that those who have parental responsibility, and children whose name the ISA is in over the age of 16 years, are recognised as Registered Contacts. In addition, because we only have permission to do business within the UK, you must be resident in the UK when you sign the application form.
Where is the premium invested?
The premiums are invested in the Metfriendly With-Profits Fund. For information on what that is and how it works, including a diagram to show the approximate investment mix, please refer to the With-Profits Fund page.
What happens at the end of the guaranteed bonus period?
After the guaranteed bonus rate period, plans will be moved to a variable bonus rate and the plan will be eligible for a final bonus, on encashment, after three complete tax years investment.
Junior ISA/Child Trust Transfers
Transfers from another Junior ISA Provider
If you would like to transfer a Junior ISA to us from another provider, please call us on 01689 891 454 or complete the Junior ISA transfer form.
Transfers from a Child Trust Fund (CTF)
To transfer a CTF to us, both a Child Trust Fund Transfer Form AND a Junior ISA application should be completed and returned to us by the person who is currently the registered contact for the CTF (normally a parent).
The procedure (as directed by HMRC) is that, following receipt of your applications, we open an “empty” Junior ISA and issue documents, including a “cooling-off” notice. This cooling-off notice gives 30 days in which to cancel the Junior ISA if it is not required. When the 30 days cooling-off period has expired, we will then send the transfer request to the CTF provider, asking them to transfer the amount to us. When we receive their cheque, we will send you confirmation of the amount received. Once the CTF has been closed it cannot be reopened.
Please note that the minimum we will allow to be transferred to us from a CTF or a Junior ISA into a Monthly Savings Junior ISA will be £500.
What if I change my mind or decide to cancel?
- You can cancel for a full refund within 30 days of receiving your policy documents. Simply contact our Member Services team on 01689 891454 or email [email protected]
- If you wish to change your contributions, add the Metfriendly Escalator or withdraw funds, our friendly Member Services team will be able to discuss your options.
How do I contact you?
Metfriendly, Central Court, Knoll Rise, Orpington, BR6 0JA
Phone: 01689 891454
Email: [email protected]
Take a look here for answers to more frequently asked questions regarding our Monthly Savings ISA.
