University fees

What’s the best way to plan for university fees?

Most people depend on their on going income to help their children through university. However if you are sensible enough to start saving early to fund your child’s university education this is preferable as it spreads the load.

As always you should ensure you have a good financial plan, or have taken advice from an independent financial adviser to safe guard your income and capital. You should have both a back up fund and insurance plans such as income protection, unemployment insurance and term insurance in the event of a reduction in your income stream due to redundancy, illness, death of a parent or a business problem if you run your own business.

When should I start saving towards university fees?

Obviously the earlier you start saving towards paying for your child’s university fees the better, as the larger your investment portfolio the better you will be able to ride out any income fluctuations.

What sort of investments are the most suitable for paying university fees?

It depends on your circumstances, so again good financial advice and investment advice is essential. A mix of the best cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs are likely to provide a good starting point unless you are fully utilising them for other purposes.

Are the grandparents willing and able to contribute to university fees?

Grandparents contributing to their grand children’s education can utilise extremely tax efficient methods of both funding university fees and also avoiding potential Inheritance tax. The planning and implementation can be fairly complex, so discuss it with us or another financial planner.

The grandparents are probably part of our wealthy retired group of millionaire clients. Their financial planning will obviously have to take precedent. However our family financial plans are set up specifically with this kind of planning in mind.

What about business owners paying university fees for their own children?

Business owners of Limited companies can use some very unusual tax saving (but absolutely legal) planning ideas to fund their own children’s university fees. This is too complex to explain here so please call us if you are interested.

Should my child get a loan even if I have sufficient to fund their university fees myself?

Absolutely, the rate of interest is so low as to make it sensible planning in most cases. Even if you invested the money, you are likely to achieve a higher return than the rate of interest payable.

What happens if I set up a savings plan and my child does not go to university?

No problem (financially speaking), you have extra money in capital to use how you feel- weddings, first house, first car etc.

Any questions on university fees planning?

Please call us on 01582 839280 or Email us.