I’m a money expert – here’s five tips to make sure your baby is a millionaire by the time they retire

A money expert has revealed five top tips to make sure your baby has a £1million pension pot by the time they retire.

Despite having a baby meaning your cost-of-living has gone up but your disposable income has gone down, this doesn’t have to mean you have to be strapped for cash.

Megan Jenkins, a chartered financial planner and partner at wealth management firm Saltus, provided advice for supporting children financially.

She outlined how parents can prepare for the cost of university or a deposit for their child’s first home – and how a newborn baby can retire with a £1million pension pot. 

It comes after the viral Project Mbappe meme which saw parents pledge to impose tough training sessions on their youngsters in a bid to encourage their meteoric rise to stardom and wealth after Kylian Mbappe won the football World Cup. 

A money expert outlined how parents can prepare for a deposit for their child’s first home

Ambitious parents are trying to prepare their wealth in other ways, such as a trend of tough training sessions for their youngsters in a bid to encourage their rise to fame after Kylian Mbappe won the football World Cup

The financial expert said the hardest part is re-aligning the lifestyle parents once enjoyed and potentially the reduced income they now have. 

It could mean having to re-think about spending on new or expensive toys or clothes and opting for second-hand.

She explained: ‘A child can have a pension from birth – there’s no minimum age. 

‘Only a parent or guardian can open up a pension for a child but once it’s up-and-running, anyone can contribute – parents, grandparents, godparents, friends or other family members.

‘Junior pensions are a great tax-efficient way to build a retirement nest egg for your child, through the power of compound growth.

‘Setting up a pension as early as possible means even small contributions have more time to grow and even though your child is decades away from retirement, you’ve helped to ensure their future financial wellbeing.

‘The maximum you can save each year into a Junior Pension from birth through to 18 is £3,600, this includes up to £720 tax relief, which the Government pays, and up to £2,880 from family members or individuals.

‘Control of the pension passes automatically to your child at 18, however, the money is locked away until retirement age (usually accessible from 55 but will be 57 from 2028).

The hardest part is re-aligning the lifestyle parents once enjoyed and potentially the reduced income they now have

Rio Ferdinand proved the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree on Tuesday after confirming himself as the latest advocate of Project Mbappé

Ferdinand – a highly decorated former footballer in his own right – has embraced the trend of parents pledging to impose tough training sessions on their youngsters in a bid to encourage their meteoric rise to stardom and wealth after Kylian Mbappe won the football World Cup

‘However by delaying accessing the money until they are 65, your child could retire with a pension pot of £1m through the power of compounding (five per cent each year until the age of 65, would equate to over £1million. That’s potentially a return of over 2000 per cent.’

She told new mothers and fathers to not shy away from asking their own parents for financial help – through their pensions.

‘If plans are in place for grandparents to leave their property to their children, they could look to leave some money to their grandchildren through their pensions as a way of cascading wealth down to the next generation.

‘The attractiveness about leaving a pension to grandchildren is that depending on what age the grandparents are when they die, if the grandparents are over 75, it’s taxed at the marginal rate of the beneficiary. 

‘So, If you’ve got a minor or a university child, whose receiving money from a pension, they can access it virtually tax free, because they will have their personal allowance of £12,570 a year they can utilise and this will allow them to take it out in stages.’

It could mean having to re-think about spending on new or expensive toys or clothes and opting for second-hand

She told new mothers and fathers to not shy away from asking their own parents for financial help – through their pensions – for children at university

The money expert outlined how parents can prepare for the cost of university

She gave the example of if a grandchild has inherited £50,000 from his grandmother’s pension, this money can be put towards funding three years at university, by taking £12,570 a year tax-free. 

Ms Jenkins advised parents to set up a Junior ISA, which allows different family members to contribute.

She said: ‘You can start to use that as a way to help pay for the cost of university and if a child decides not to go to university, it’s a head start on their first property deposit. You can save up to £9,000 each tax year and it is money which is tax-free.

‘Family members can contribute as much or as little (subject to conditions of a provider) as they want into the account and, arguably, it will be more beneficial than buying a child a material gift. Instead, you’re putting aside for the longer term, that they will appreciate when they are 18 – albeit not as much now.’

Other helpful tips included having Family Income Protection or a Family Income Benefit policy, and updating your will.

She said: ‘During the early years, the cost of childcare and raising a child is high and so a family income benefit policy is a worthwhile insurance to have. The policy will provide additional income should one parent die before your child is 18.

Parents across Britain are embracing the tongue-in-cheek craze of mock-training their children to become skilled footballing prodigies from an early age and hopefully enjoy the same meteoric stardom as French ace Kylian Mbappé

‘Although the initial cost of the policy can seem steep, for example, you may want £20,000 a year until 18, you start with £360,000 but if you died after 10 years that’s £120,000 rather than £360,000 so the cost is a lot cheaper because the quantum of the sum assured paid out by an insurance company is a lot lower but it matches the maintenance costs of having a child, in the event that one parent were to die.

‘It’s also important to make sure your will is up-to-date, including the letter of wishes that accompanies it.’

Other parents across Britain are embracing the tongue-in-cheek craze of mock-training their children to become skilled footballing prodigies from an early age and hopefully enjoy the same meteoric stardom as French ace Kylian Mbappé.

The 25-year old, considered one of the finest players of his generation, had already won the World Cup and four Ligue 1 titles by the time he turned 21.

He is expected to leave current club Paris Saint Germain over the summer, with Spanish giants Real Madrid his likely destination.