UK Saving and Investing for Children Consumer Report 2025

Nearly nine out of 10 parents in the UK have some form of savings for their children, covering around 7.3 million households. However, this leaves approximately one million households without any savings set aside for their children. While saving for children may not be a priority for everyone, there are still many parents who could afford to save but haven’t started yet. Highlighting room for growth in this market, even as the UK experiences a declining birth rate.

The cost of living crisis has underscored the importance of saving for children, but for many parents, it has also made it harder to take action. Despite some relief from inflation, high living costs continue to stretch budgets. For families with little financial flexibility, consistent saving is a challenge, as many prioritise meeting their children’s immediate needs over building a future financial legacy.

Parents often save for their children with specific financial goals in mind, but many also value the educational lessons the process can provide. Teaching kids money skills can be challenging for parents, who often rely on schools for support. However, with widespread dissatisfaction among parents regarding the role schools play in teaching financial literacy, there’s a clear opportunity for financial providers to step in – a role parents are eager for them to take on.

This report looks at the following areas:

The cost of living crisis has prompted a renewed focus on saving for children. Parents are looking to apply the lessons learned from their own financial challenges to safeguard their children’s futures.

Charlie Landsborough, Financial Services Analyst

Market Definitions

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions.

This Report explores the overall landscape for saving and investing for children, focusing on the behaviours and attitudes towards saving in this category. The Market Size section analyses the number of people saving on behalf of children, including the proportion saving on a regular and infrequent basis. It also makes an estimate of the total amount saved on behalf of children based on self-reporting by parents.

The main products included in the analysis of the Report include:

• Child Trust Funds (CTFs) – launched in 2005, these were made available to all children born in the UK between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. The first of these matured in September 2020 and will continue to do so until 2028. Eligible children received an initial contribution from the government in the form of a voucher for £250 (lower-income families could receive £500). The scheme was withdrawn for children born after 2 January 2011, and 6.3 million vouchers were issued. The child can take control of their CTF at age 16 but cannot withdraw any money until they reach 18.
• Junior Individual Savings Accounts (JISAs) were introduced on 1 November 2011 to replace CTFs. Individuals must be aged 16 and a UK resident to open a JISA on behalf of a child, or be aged 16 or 17 to open one themselves. The child must not already have a CTF, although they can transfer a CTF into a JISA. A child can open a cash and a stocks and shares account but cannot hold more than one account of the same type. The savings in a JISA account cannot be withdrawn until the child reaches 18. Only then can the savings either be withdrawn or the balance transferred into an adult ISA. The JISA limit is £9,000 for the 2025/26 tax year, the same as it was the previous year. Children aged 16 or 17 can have both a JISA and an adult cash ISA (which has an annual limit of £20,000).
• Children’s savings accounts – there are various types, including easy access accounts, regular savings accounts and fixed-term accounts or bonds. They tend to operate in the same way as adult savings accounts and are predominantly offered by banks and building societies. Some children’s savings accounts allow the child, if aged seven or above, to operate the account themselves, including the ability to deposit and withdraw money.

Other products used by parents and others to invest for children include tax-exempt children’s savings plans offered by friendly societies and Premium Bonds and Children’s Bonds offered by National Savings & Investments (NS&I). However, NS&I withdrew its Children’s Bonds from sale in September 2017, when it launched a Junior ISA.