Saving cleverly for the next generation

One in three savers (33 percent) save money for children, grandchildren or godchildren, according to a recent Postbank survey. But please don’t put it in the piggy bank!

The older the children, the greater the desires
Picture No. 1443, source: Postbank
© ulkas78

Driving license, car and the equipment for your first own apartment: When children get fledged, they usually have some big and expensive wishes. In order to be able to meet these requirements, one in three German savers (33 percent) puts money back for the next generation. This is the result of a current TNS Emnid survey on behalf of Postbank. Those who provide for the offspring use a savings account (38 percent), a home savings contract (31 percent) or life insurance (29 percent) with above-average frequency. Funds and stocks, on the other hand, are not very popular: only 21 percent of those who make up reserves for family members invest the money on the stock exchange; the average is 24 percent. 29 percent of the respondents even prefer to save the savings at home. The ups and downs of the stock market prices seem too uncertain to invest in the christening and birthday money of the children. “If you start saving for the youngsters early on and the savings do not have to be paid out on a fixed date, securities are a good way to generate profits above the inflation limit. It is advisable to buy shares in an investment or ETF fund – this means that investors take a manageable risk, ”recommends Karsten Rusch from Postbank.

Picture No. 1444, source: Postbank
© Zlatan Durakovic

A fund consists of numerous individual shares that spread the risk for investors. In the case of an ETF, the composition reflects a certain index – for example the German stock index or stocks of the world’s most successful companies. When buying ETF shares, investors rely on a positive market development and not – as with an actively managed investment fund – on the skill of a fund manager. Savers can also purchase shares in a fund using a savings plan. This is already possible from 25 euros a month. Another advantage: "A fund savings plan is flexible, you can vary the amount of payments, temporarily suspend them and cancel the plan at any time," says Karsten Rusch. If you want to invest money on the stock exchange, you need a deposit and an investment account. Parents can close it in the name of the child – then capital gains of up to EUR 9,600 per year remain tax-free. However, if the child’s monthly income is over 425 euros (in the case of marginal employment over 450 euros), he flies out of the free statutory health insurance. Parents and grandparents should also keep in mind that the child can freely dispose of his savings after his 18th birthday if he is an account holder himself. All the more reason to educate young people to use money responsibly.

Study information:

In a telephone, representative multi-topic survey in August 2017, TNS Emnid interviewed 1,001 respondents aged 16 and over on behalf of Postbank.

Related Posts

• 

  How do children and young people eat in germany?

  The nutritional situation of children in Germany Continued poor nutrition can have lifelong consequences. Therefore, the questions inevitably arise: What…

• 

  Investment & save for children with etfs, etf savings plan, justetf

  financial investment Save for kids with ETFs Piggy bank is yesterday: In times of low interest rates, savings accounts hardly offer any added value. With…

• 

  Postbank: investment for children

  Financial investment for children What do you give to children who already have everything? Lasting values ​​for tomorrow! The blinkered view of the…

• 

  Invest money for children: savings book or shares?

  Invest money for children: savings book or shares? Parents usually start looking for investment opportunities for their offspring after the birth of…