Family Tree (Trust) – Saving for children under 18 years

Account name

Family Tree (Trust) – Saving for children under 18 years

What is the interest rate?

2.60% Gross*/AER**

Interest is added to the account annually on 30 November.

Can the Society change the interest rate?

The interest rate on this account is variable and the Society may make changes to this rate at any time. We will notify you of any changes in accordance with the Terms & Conditions.

What would the estimated balance be after 12 months based on a £1,000 deposit?

If you were to open this account with £1,000 and no further deposits or withdrawals were made, after 12 months you would earn £26 in interest. This would result in a total balance of £1,026. Please note this is an illustration only and does not reflect your specific circumstances.

How do I open and manage my account?

To be eligible for this account:
• You need to be a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian of a child under 18.
• Provide an opening investment between £10 and £50,000.
• Both the trustee and the child must be a permanent UK resident.

You can open an account:
• By completing the appropriate application form.
• Visit any of our branches with your opening investment of cash or cheque or apply by post by sending the application form with an opening cheque.
• Provide proof of identity. Acceptable forms of identification are detailed in our Verifying your Identity leaflet. Alternatively, our staff will give you full details.

If you change your mind:
If you are not happy with your chosen account within 14 days of opening it, we will help you switch accounts or return your savings with interest.

How do I manage my account:
• Family Tree Trust is a bare trust savings account. This means that the saved balance and interest earned always belongs to the child.
• The trustees are responsible for operating the account until the child reaches age 18.
• Once the account is open the beneficiary cannot be changed.
• You need to keep a minimum of £10 in the account.
• The maximum that can be held in this account is £50,000.
• You may invest up to the maximum balance by cash, cheque or bank transfer.

Can I withdraw money?

• Withdrawals or closure are only permitted by cheque payable to the child or transfer to another account with Suffolk Building Society in the child’s name.
• If we believe that the account is not being operated for the benefit of the child, we reserve the right to close the account.
• Where there are 2 or more trustees, a minimum of 2 signatories will be required for withdrawals or closure.

What happens when the child reaches 18?
We will contact you 14 days before maturity. We will:
• Provide information on how the beneficiary can access their funds, close the account, or continue to save with us
• Transfer their savings into our instant access product available at the time if we don’t hear from them.

Additional
Information

There are different tax rules for interest earned on children’s accounts. You might have to pay tax on any interest that exceeds your Personal Savings Allowance (PSA). How your account is taxed will depend on your personal situation.
The tax information we provide is based on current laws and HMRC guidance, but these may be updated in the future.

Gross*
The rate paid with no income tax deducted. For more information on your Personal Savings Allowance, please refer to www.gov.uk.

AER (Annual Equivalent Rate)**
A rate which illustrates what the gross rate would be if the interest was paid and added once each year. This helps you compare more easily the return you can expect from your savings over time.

How we report interest to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

We report the total interest earned on your savings account without deducting any interest penalty that may have been applied due to a withdrawal or closure. This might have been because you were unable to give notice in line with the account terms and conditions. This may mean a higher portion of your personal savings allowance will be used up. You can find out more information about your Personal Savings Allowance at www.gov.uk

Changes to these terms
Are detailed in Section 19 of our General Investment Terms and Conditions.

Customer complaints
Although we do all we can to provide a first-class customer service, sadly sometimes things do go wrong. Your concerns are important to us to improve quality of service and identify possible training needs.
We are committed to ensuring all complaints are fully and fairly addressed. If you have a complaint, please let us know and we will do our very best to resolve the problem. A leaflet is available detailing our complaint procedure, which you can request at any time.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Suffolk Building Society participates in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. For full details please ask our staff.