Welcome

We've dedicated this page to provide you with more information about who we are and about the transfer of the Halifax Child Trust Funds (CTFs) to Forester Life.

We look after over 1 million children's savings Plans

Our customers rate us 4.7 out of 5 stars

Taking care of family finances for over 145 years

Choose how you do business with us

Driven to share not shareholder driven

Forester Life is a mutual financial services company with over £4.5bn funds under management as of 31^st December 2019. Our UK based operations look after around 3 million members and customers helping them achieve their financial goals. We are part of an international membership organisation, Foresters Financial, operating in the UK, Canada and the US. We exist for the benefit of our members, customers and their communities.

Our unique history began in 1874 when we set out to provide access to life insurance for working families. More than 145 years later we provide life and critical illness insurance, income protection, together with a range of savings and investment products to meet your family's needs at various stages of life.

As one of the largest CTF providers, we believe that we are the best company to take care of your child’s savings and help you save towards their future.

More about the transfer

From 10^th April we will be looking after your child's CTF. This will take place automatically, so you do not have to do anything for the move to happen.

Your child's CTF will continue to invest in the same fund as before, the Halifax UK FTSE 100 Tracking Fund. The total annual charge for looking after the CTF will remain at only 1% per annum. There will be no other charges such as entry, exit and dealing charges.

Upon transfer, the Registered Contact will receive a transfer closing statement showing the final value of the CTF with Halifax, together with the new Forester Life personalised Plan Document. This will detail the amount transferred, any regular monthly payments, and the Plan's Terms and Conditions. In addition, we will also provide details about how to create your online MyPlans account.

Any Direct Debits set up will continue to collect as normal, this includes any made by family and friends. The only change you will see is Forester Life instead of Halifax on your bank statement. You can continue to save from as little as £10.

Doing business in a way that suits you

Once your child's CTF is with us, you, your family and friends will be able to do business in a way that suits. We offer a comprehensive choice of service, whether this is online, email, telephone or face-to-face.

The Registered Contact will be able to view and manage the child’s CTF online 24/7 by creating a MyPlans account.

Family and friends can create their own MyPlans gifter account where they can make payments online too.

Once the CTF is with us

You do not need to do anything for the transfer of your child's CTF to take place - this will happen automatically. Charges for looking after the CTF will remain at just 1% of the Plan value and the CTF will remain as a stakeholder plan that continues to invest in the Halifax UK FTSE 100 Tracking Fund, which will take the form of a unit-linked life plan.

The information below details just some of the benefits of having your child's CTF with us and the service we will provide.

Payment flexibility
There will be more flexibility with your contributions, from the type of payment to how you can make them; online, over the phone, by post or direct from your bank (Direct Credit).

For monthly contributions anyone will be able to choose their Direct Debit collection date and the number of Direct Debits set each month, to suit their payment needs. Remember, if you have a Direct Debit set up already you don’t need to change anything, we will continue to collect this. The only change you will see is Forester Life instead of Halifax on your bank statement.

Single contributions can be made by debit card, cheque and directly from your bank or building society (Direct Credit).

Online account management
By creating a MyPlans account you will be able to contribute to the Plan, view the Plan value, fund performance, fund information and access your document library online 24/7.

Family and friends can also create their own MyPlans gifter account where they can make payments online too.

When your child reaches 18
Just before your child's 18^th birthday we will provide details about the options available at maturity and the value of the CTF.

On their 18^th birthday the CTF will mature and automatically be transferred to an ISA in their name. The ISA will continue to invest in the same fund as before, with the same charges and tax-free status, although regulations do not allow us to accept any further contributions into the Plan.

From age 18 onwards your child will have a variety of options, from fully encashing the Plan to continuing to use it to save towards their future from a selection of funds. They will be able to make their decisions with us online, over the phone, or get face-to-face advice should they wish.

For more information visit our Child Trust Fund Information Hub >

Reducing investment risk
We offer an optional benefit called Lifestyling which changes the way that the Plan is invested from the child’s 15^th birthday up until maturity. Lifestyling continues to provide potential for growth, whilst progressively reducing investment risk, by moving a proportion of any contributions and the fund value from the existing fund into a lower risk managed fund, with less exposure to equities. We will provide more information before your child's 15^th birthday to enable you to choose to opt in to this benefit.

Keeping pace with inflation
An additional benefit of the Plan is that we will provide an easy way to keep your contributions in line with inflation. Each year we will increase your monthly contribution by the Retail Price Index (subject to a minimum of 2.5% and maximum contribution limit). This is one less thing to think about whilst you save for their future. We will write to you each year before this happens and you have the option to opt out of this at any time.

Covered by the FSCS
The CTF is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means if in the unlikely event that we cannot meet our obligations, your child will be entitled to 100% of the value of their CTF.

A unit-linked life plan
As the CTF is a unit-linked life plan it will continue to invest directly into the same fund as before, the Halifax UK FTSE 100 Tracking Fund. Each time we receive a contribution into the CTF, we will invest it on your child's behalf into the fund. The unit price changes directly in line with the investment performance of the fund.

Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.

What is a CTF?

Read our article to find out all of the information you need to know about Child Trust Funds, from when the money can be accessed to maximising contributions.

Learn more about CTFs

Stakeholder explained

Your child’s Child Trust Fund is a stakeholder product, but what does this really mean? Take a look at the differences between a stakeholder and a non-stakeholder Child Trust Fund.

Find out what Stakeholder means

CTFs and Junior ISAs

The aim of both products is to save for a child's future. Want to know what the differences and similarities are between a Child Trust Fund and a Junior ISA? Read our article to find out more.

Read about CTFs and Junior ISAs

What happens to CTFs when the child reaches age 18?

We look after over one million child savings Plans so we understand the importance of making sure we keep our customers up to date. If you’d like to know more about how the Planholders will be able to access their money when they reach 18, or would like to know more details, we have created a hub with the information.

Child Trust Fund Hub

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