| How do I open and manage my account? |
To open an account, the child must be resident in Wales. The person applying for a JISA must be aged 16 or more, and is one of the following:
- the child who will hold the account
- the child’s natural parent
- a person who has legally adopted the child
- a person who has been granted parental responsibility by the courts
- a Local Authority that has parental responsibility for a child in its care.
The account may not be a joint account. An account can still be opened for a child by a person with parental responsibility, even if the child is over 16, and therefore entitled to apply for an account themselves. The person applying will be the registered contact and will be the account contact for all statements and correspondence purposes. A child is eligible for a JISA if, when the account application is made:
- they are under age 18
- they were born on or after 3 January 2011 or do not have a Child Trust Fund account
- they are resident and ordinarily resident in the UK, or are a UK Crown employee, married to or in a civil partnership with a Crown employee, or a dependent of a Crown employee.
Unlike an ‘adult’ ISA where the investor can open and subscribe to new ISAs in each tax year, a child can only hold up to two JISAs (no more than one of each type) throughout their childhood (although between ages 16 and 18 they can hold one of each type of JISA plus an ‘adult’ Cash ISA). The account must remain in your beneficial ownership, and may not be used as security for any form of lending. You are subscribing to a cash JISA for the current tax year and each subsequent tax year in which you subscribe to the account. Any person can subscribe to a JISA by way of a cash payment. The person subscribing does not need to be resident in the UK, nor do they have to be related to the child. The subscriber must understand that the amount subscribed is a gift to the child, and as such cannot be repaid to the subscriber if at a later date the subscriber changes their mind. You can choose between investing an annual lump sum, making regular contributions or making contributions to the account when you can afford them.
How much you save in the account is up to you, subject to the maximum annual limits determined by the Government. The maximum investment you can subscribe to the account in the current tax year is determined by ISA regulations in force at that time. This limit applies to the total payments made to the account during the year, and not the balance.
When a child reaches age 16 they can apply for an ‘adult’ Cash ISA which they can subscribe to in addition to any subscriptions made to the JISA. Therefore, in the tax year in which the child turns 16 they can subscribe up to the JISA limit and from their 16th birthday they can, in addition, subscribe up to 50% of the overall ‘adult’ ISA limit to a Cash ISA. In the tax year in which the child turns 17 they can subscribe up to the JISA limit and subscribe up to 50% of the overall ISA limit to a Cash ISA. In addition, from the start of the tax year the child turns 18, they can:
- use their whole JISA subscription limit (even though the JISA will be held for a part year only); and
- subscribe 50% of their overall ‘adult’ ISA limit to a Cash ISA; and from their 18th birthday, invest in a stocks and shares ISA, subject to the normal ‘adult’ ISA subscription limits.
The minimum investment is £1. The maximum investment is determined by ISA regulations in force at the time. The maximum balance that can be held across all accounts held with the Society is £1m*, or £500k where the customer first opened an account with the Society on or after 01.03.23. *Please note that where an existing customer(s) who opened an account on or before 28.02.23 has an aggregate savings balance in excess of £500k, they will not be allowed to deposit further monies where their combined balances are in excess of these amounts.
The account will terminate as a JISA on:
- the death of the account holder;
- the terminal illness of the account holder;
- on direct instruction from HMRC (where the JISA is void); or,
- on the child reaching their 18th birthday.
In addition, where all of the investments of a JISA have been transferred, a provider may close the remaining nil balance account. When the account holder turns 18, the rules specific to JISA will cease. The child will be contacted shortly before their 18th birthday to discuss their future savings options. If no contact can be made or a preferred savings option not communicated, the balance will be transferred into an existing (if applicable) or new ‘adult’ ISA with us. Withdrawals from the account before the child is 18 can only be made where a terminal illness claim made on behalf of the child has been agreed. The Cash JISA can be transferred in whole direct to another approved JISA operator at the account holder’s request.
- Simply call at one of our branches or complete an application form and post it to us along with a cheque made payable to '(the child's name)’. For further details on our Identification process please see our Proving Your Identity leaflet available from branch offices or online here.
- The minimum investment is £1. The maximum investment is determined by ISA regulations in force at the time. The maximum balance that can be held across all accounts held with the Society is £1m*, or £500k where the customer first opened an account with the Society on or after 01.03.23. *Please note that where an existing customer(s) who opened an account on or before 28.02.23 has an aggregate savings balance in excess of £500k, they will not be allowed to deposit further monies where their combined balances are in excess of these amounts.
- Deposits can be made by cheque, standing order, electronic bank transfer, transfer from another account held with the Society (subject to the Terms and Conditions of that account) or cash (cash deposits are limited to £3,000 per customer per day).
- Manage your account in branch, Email, post or online via secure message (subject to Swansea Online Account eligibility criteria, available when you click ‘Register Now’).
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