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 child’s CTF account (£141.96, compared to £123.84).

Karl Elliott, 3GB spokesperson for Engage Mutual said: “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.”