Junior ISA FAQs.

It’s tax-efficient like all ISAs, but a Junior ISA is different because it allows adults to save for, and invest on behalf of, a child.

By investing in a Junior ISA, your child will benefit from not having to pay personal income tax or capital gains tax on any profit the investment makes. Please bear in mind that the tax assumptions we’ve used are those currently relevant, but tax laws can change over time which could affect investments. The value of the tax benefit will depend on individual circumstances.

There are two types of Junior ISA available:

• A stocks and shares Junior ISA – invests in the stock market.
• A cash Junior ISA – earns interest, like a savings account.

You can save the full allowance in one type of Junior ISA or, by splitting the allowance, you can use both types.

Legal & General Investments only offers a stocks and shares Junior ISA.

Any child that is a resident in the UK may be eligible as long as they don’t already have a Child Trust Fund. Generally, this applies to:

• Children born on or after 3 January 2011, and
• Children under the age of 18 born before 1 September 2002.

There may be exceptions to this – call us on 0800 980 2691 if you’d like to check if your child is eligible for a Junior ISA. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6.00pm. We may record and monitor calls. Call charges will vary.

With a Junior ISA you can split your allowance between a cash Junior ISA and stocks and shares Junior ISA. But unlike Child Trust Funds, a Junior ISA does not benefit from Government contributions.

No - a child is eligible for one or the other of these initiatives. 

No – the Junior ISA can only be opened after the child is born. But if you’d like to receive our information and application pack ready for when the child is born, please use our Request a pack page.

You can only open a Junior ISA on behalf of an eligible child if you are the Legal Guardian (a parent or someone with parental responsibility) for that child. This person becomes the registered contact for the account.

A child aged between 16 and 18 can open a Junior ISA for themselves. They would become the registered contact in this case.

The definition of this is someone with the rights and duties of a parent for the child.

The registered contact is the only person allowed to make decisions regarding the management of a Junior ISA.

The registered contact is the only person allowed to make decisions regarding the management of a Junior ISA.

Each eligible child can have one cash Junior ISA and one stocks and shares Junior ISA at any time. If the child is invested in both versions, it is up to the registered contact to ensure they remain within the annual Junior ISA limit.

No – you can hold a cash Junior ISA with one company and a stocks and shares ISA with a different one.

Yes – as long you’re the legal guardian for the child then you can be the registered contact for their Junior ISA. You can also be the registered contact for your own Junior ISA if you're aged between 16 and 18.

At present it’s not possible to transfer a Child Trust Fund to a Junior ISA, however this may change in the future.

You can use the money in other accounts to fund a Junior ISA, but there is no specific direct transfer process.

Yes – to transfer an existing Junior ISA to us, please complete the Junior ISA Transfer Form and send it back to us – we’ll do the rest.

Please bear in mind that it normally takes up to two weeks, but could take longer. Your existing provider may charge you a fee for the transfer. Whilst your ISA transfer is taking place you won’t benefit from any rise in the markets so you could lose some growth.

No – the money invested in a Junior ISA is locked away until at least the child’s 18th birthday, at which point they’ll have the option to continue investing with an adult ISA, or take some or all of the money.

If you invest with us remember you’ll always have the option to switch to another fund if the market or your needs change. You also have the option to transfer the money to another Junior ISA provider..

The money will be held in a Junior ISA until the child’s 18th birthday unless there are exceptional circumstances. These are detailed in our Junior ISA Terms and Conditions.

Anyone can contribute to a Junior ISA once it’s set up, as long as the total contributions from all parties don’t exceed the annual allowance. To make a contribution all you’ll need to provide is the child’s:

• name,
• client number, and
• post code.

The current Junior ISA limit is £3,600.

You can invest up to this amount in the current tax year. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. The allowance will increase with inflation, using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) as a basis, but the next increase isn’t due until April 2013.

The minimum investment for our Junior ISA is £30 a month by direct debit or £500 as a lump sum.

• New monthly contributions – from as little as £30 a month by direct debit.
• Existing direct debit – you can increase this by £1 or more.
• Lump sum top-ups – from £100.

Yes – any regular contributions will be split across the funds selected by the registered contact already held in the Junior ISA and will match the existing proportions. Only the registered contact can change the funds held within the Junior ISA.

As long as you invest the minimum amounts for the Junior ISA, you can split the investment across our funds however you like.

Only the registered contact is allowed to make decisions regarding the management of a Junior ISA.

We’ll send a notice of the rights to cancel to the registered contact as soon as we accept their application. You have 14 days to change your mind and cancel the investment in writing.

We’ll refund all the charges we’ve deducted. However, you might not get back the full amount invested if the value of the units has fallen. Full details are included in our Junior ISA Terms and Conditions.

Our expertise is focused on making the most of our clients’ money by investing in stocks and shares. It’s for this reason that we’re only offering a stocks and shares Junior ISA.