Twins get more Savings

Twins are getting more paid in regularly to their Child Trust Funds (CTFs) by their parents than their single counterparts according to data from engage Mutual.

engage Mutual, which provides Child Trust Funds to over 130,000 British children, has found that parents of twins with an engage CTF are 40 percent more likely to be making monthly payments into engage CTFs for both their children than other parents of children with an engage CTF.

Parents also make higher monthly payments into their child's CTF if the child is a twin. On average, parents of twins contribute £1.51 more per child, per month, into each of their twin's CTF accounts than the average family with children who are not twins, amounting to an additional £18 per year for each twin. Assuming this level of additional payments continues from age 1 until the child reaches 18, this could amount to an extra £480 for twins when their CTF matures.

With 97% of parents with twins paying into both of their twins' CTFs, they commit an extra £18 a year into each twins CTF, compared to parents without twins who are paying into a childs CTF account (£141.96, compared to £123.84).

Karl Elliott, 3GB Spokesperson for engage Mutual Assurance, commented:

“ It is quite a surprise that twins are more likely to have a parent paying more into their Child Trust Fund than children who do not have a twin sibling and we can only surmise why this may be. However, the tendency towards older mothers to have twins* could go someway to explaining why parents of twins are more able and prepared to save for their children's future.”

“engage Mutual is committed to making it easy for everyone to save little and often.By encouraging parents to pay as little as £5 per month into their child’s CTF by direct debit, we are reaching out to all savers and giving them the opportunity to put away money for their child’s future. Regardless of household income, or how many children you have, everyone should be encouraged to save for their children’s future. We would urge parents to set aside a small amount of money on a regular basis. Many parents will be surprised to see how each monthly installment will add up over the long-term.”

Twins vs Non-twins CTF Subscription Rates

	Twins	Non-twins
Percentage of CTFs which receive monthly direct debit top-ups	58%	41%
Average subscription amount per month	£11.83	£10.32
Average subscription amount per year	£141.96	£123.84
Potential value of the average CTF when the child reaches 18 (with lifestyling)	£47101	£42301

¹ This assumes the first voucher of £250 is invested at age 1, the second voucher of £250 is invested at age 7, and regular monthly payments commence at age 1 and finish at age 18. They also assume a growth rate of 7%.

• These figures are only examples and are not guaranteed - they are not minimum or maximum amounts. What the child gets back depends on how the investment grows and on the tax treatment of the investment
• The child could get back more or less than this
• All firms use the same rates of growth for illustrations but their charges vary
• Inflation would reduce what the child could buy in the future with the amounts shown

engage Mutual is one of the UK's leading CTF providers, currently holding 130,000 Child Trust Funds. As an ongoing commitment to understand how parents choose and invest into their children's CTFS, engage Mutual regularly reviews the circumstances of people who invest using its products.

Footnotes

* According to the Office for National Statistics, the chances of giving birth to twins increases in correlation with the age of the mother - the older the mother, the more likely she is to give birth to twins. It could be possible that older mothers are more financially experienced and therefore more aware of the importance of saving than their younger counterparts http://www.statistics.gov.uk

Engage Mutual Assurance CTF Product Information

• The stakeholder CTF is an equity product that initially invests in the engage Investment Growth Fund
• The engage CTF has built in life styling - once the child reaches 13 the money is gradually moved into the Homeowners High Income Fund. At age 17 the money will be completely switched from the Homeowners Investment Growth Fund, the engage Mutual medium to high risk fund, to the Homeowners High Income fund, the engage Mutual medium to low risk fund.
• Please note this is a stockmarket-linked investment and its value can fall as well as rise. The child may get back less than has been paid in.
• The annual charge is 1.5%
• The minimum contribution is £5
• The child's cash lump sum payout at the age of 18 will dependo n investment performan, and cannot be guaranteed
• The value of your child's savings can fall as well as rsie and they may not get back as much as has been invested for them
• Once money is paid into the CTF, it is 'locked in' and can only be accessed by the child and not before they reach age 18, except as permitted by CTF regulations.
• The tax treatment of CTF;s may change in future.
• Although our CTF account is a Stakeholder CTF which meets certain standards, this does not mean that the investment is suitable or tht its performance is guaranteed.
• We do not give advise on investments, if you are not sure as to the suitability of this product you should see advice from an Independent Financial Adviser. You may have to pay for this advice.

engage Mutual Assurance can be contacted on 0800 169 4321 or by visiting www.engagemutual.com

The information contained in this press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be relied upon by private investors or any other persons to make financial decisions.

For more information, please contact:


Notes to editors:

1.The research is based on Engage Mutual internal data from a base of more than 130,000 customers

2.If using this article on a website, please link to www.engagemutual.com using the following hyperlink text: engage Mutual Assurance - meeting the changing needs of todays modern families

3.engage Mutual Assurance is a trading style of Homeowners Friendly Society (HFSL) and it's wholly-owned subsidiary engage Mutual Funds Limited (EMFL).

4. engage Mutual Funds Limited (EMFL) is a provider of the Child Trust Fund direct and in partnership with partners including Legal, General and ASDA stores.

5. engage supports mutuality, friendly societies and the regional financial services industry through links with the Association of Mutual Insurers, the Association of Friendly Societies, Mutuo and Leeds Financial Services Initiative.

6.Established in 1980, Homeowners Friendly Society Limited (HFSL) is Registered and Incorporated under the Friendly Societies Act 1992, Reg.No.964F, it's wholly owned subsidiary engage Mutual Funds Limited (eMFL) is Registered in England No 3224780. Both are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

7. Homeowners Friendly Society Limited's FSA Register number is 110072 and engage Mutual Funds Limited's FSA Register number is 181487. You can check this on the FSA's Register by visiting the FSA's website www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234