Helping your family as they grow up

For years, you’ve provided both emotional and financial support for your family. To continue to support those around you in the future, it pays to plan accordingly now.

Taking care of your parents
Taking care of your parents or other elderly relatives could bring you responsibilities you hadn’t anticipated. Nursing home fees can cost an average £600 a week, (source: Daily Mail, 2007) but there are ways you can help fund this:

• Care fees annuities - a guaranteed income for life provided by an insurance company in return for a single lump-sum payment which is not taxable as income.
• Look into your eligibility for state support and benefits including carer’s allowance, local authority interest-free loans and over 50s benefits at Government website for citizens.

If you are carer, you’re not alone. In fact, it’s estimated that there are more than 6 million carers in the UK. To find out about the help and support available to you as a carer visit Caring For Elderly Relatives in the Care for the family organisation.

The NHS is always there for emergencies and serious illnesses, but for non-emergencies like a hip replacement some people prefer to go private by paying for private medical insurance.

Taking care of your partner
Because no one knows what’s around the corner, you may want to protect yourself and importantly, your partner, against the financial implications of unexpected illness or redundancy.

• Payment protection – If you choose to buy Credit card protection and or Loan Protection these may be available to cover your repayments if you lose your income due to an accident, sickness, involuntary unemployment or hospital treatment.
• Mortgage payment protection products may be also be available, leaving you less concerned about your home being repossessed.
• Consider taking out life insurance cover for the value of your outstanding mortgage to help ensure your partner is able to continue living in your house if you pass away.
• Prepare for difficult things like expenses incurred after you die with a lifetime cover policy, which gives a lump sum on death.
• The difference between life insurance and lifetime cover is that life insurance is for a defined period like the length of your mortgage and lifetime cover is valid until you die.

Taking care of your children and grandchildren
Children of all ages will probably still need your support! Here are a few ideas to help you be better prepared:

• A Child Trust Fund is a government scheme designed to give children a head start in adult life by offering you a tax-efficient way to invest in their future. Anyone can contribute up to a combined maximum of £1,200 a year. Every child born on or after 1st September 2002 is eligible for a voucher of at least £250* from the Government to open an account under its new Child Trust Fund scheme. When your child is given a great start like this, you’ll naturally want to put it to good use. Soon after you register for Child Benefit, the Government will send your child’s £250 Child Trust Fund voucher. Once you have received this voucher, you can apply to open your child’s Child Trust Fund account. As soon as your account is opened, the voucher will be invested on your child's behalf and you can start contributing to the account to help save for your child's future. The value of the investment is not guaranteed and can go down as well as up. The investment can only be accessed by the child at age 18.
• Or look into the Lloyds TSB Young Savers account which is an account you can open for young children in their name. The Young Savers account comes with a free "for the journey" moneybox. You can open an account for your child then manage it for them until they turn 16. A great gift for the youngster in your life. Grandparents can also open this account for their grand.
• You many want to help pay for things like further education, wedding or first step on the property ladder. If you’re looking at a time frame of five to ten years or more, you could speak to a financial advisor about what may be best for you.
•  Car Insurance - Although motor insurance is expensive for young drivers it’s better in the long run for your children to insure themselves and start to build up their own no-claims bonus.
• You could also consider opening a savings accounts and set aside a regular amount each month. See our Savvy Saver site.