The cost of raising children increases year after year, right up until they are ready to fly the nest. Many parents underestimate the costs involved in providing for their children’s future education and end up borrowing.

The expected cost of financing a third-level student living at home is now just over €5,000 a year and is almost double, at €10,000 a year, if the student is living away from home.

Apart from education costs, there are many other expenses your child may incur in early adulthood that you might want to give them a head start with, e.g. buying their first home or helping out with the cost of a wedding.

By taking the time now to plan for these future expenses, you can help support them in their future. The earlier you start saving, the more money you will have available to support them.
By putting money aside through a savings plan, you can build up a fund for the child and by assigning the plan to the child, you can make full use of the annual Gift Tax exemption of €3,000 from any one individual (€6,000 from a married couple).

For example, if the current children’s allowance of €140 per month is invested in a Child’s Savings Plus policy from when the child is born, it could build up to a fund of over €40,000 by the time the child reaches the age of 18.