University Savings Plan

Start a University Savings Plan today and build a valuable cash lump sum that can help make your child's dreams come true

If your aspiration for your child is to give them the best possible start in life with a university education and the many benefits this can offer, you'll appreciate that one way to help cope with those escalating higher education costs is to start saving regularly from the earliest possible stage.

The recent increase in tuition fees to a likely average of £8,500 a year, means when your child comes to leave university they could be faced with a sizeable debt when you take into account accommodation and living costs.

You can open a plan for each of your children, with the growth of the savings fund and the final lump sum payout being completely TAX-EFFICIENT. You'll find that's a significant benefit offered by our University Plan as you invest for your child's future.

Just look at what the University Savings Plan has to offer

• A flexible plan you can tailor for your child
  The University Savings Plan lets you decide how much you want to save each month to build an invaluable cash lump sum. You can invest regular sums of £100, £125, £150, £175 or £200 each month, up to a maximum annual investment of £2,400.
• Saving TAX-EFFICIENTLY can help your savings grow
  You can open a plan for each of your children, with the growth of the savings fund and the final lump sum payout being completely TAX-EFFICIENT. You'll find that's a significant benefit offered by our University Plan as you invest for your child's future.
• You can choose how and when your child receives the cash
  The plan lets you decide whether your child receives the full lump sum when they're 18 or at the end of their course. However you also have the option of making withdrawals in stages during their course (between the ages of 18 and 21) to help with their ongoing annual costs.
• The plan offers you extra benefits too
  If your child is ill for a period longer than four weeks and is unable to attend school or college, parents can receive TAX-FREE benefits of up to £200 a week towards any extra costs incurred. In addition in the unfortunate circumstance that the premium payer dies during the term of the plan, we will continue to make payments at the current premium level applying at the time. (N.B. this is available to a parent or guardian only who is aged under 50 at the time of the application)

This plan has the following risks

• How the investment performs may vary during the term of the Plan. Because of this the child could receive a higher or lower sum than you expect at the end of the plan and may not get back as much as you have paid in.
• The amount of bonus paid each year is related to the investment performance of Shepherds Friendly's funds and the total amount of sickness benefit paid out to all customers who have this type of Plan. Therefore the bonus may fluctuate from year to year throughout the term of the Plan.
• In poor investment conditions we may apply a Market Value Reduction (MVR). This could mean you get back less than you have paid in.
• If the Plan is stopped and money is taken out at any time before the end of the Plan you will have to pay a surrender penalty.
• The tax treatment of these Plans could change in the future.