The research, amongst 1,500 parents, conducted last month, shows that just over half of parents (51%) say that they already provide extended family with a wish list of gifts for their child, and 71% of parents would consider including money or savings to a Junior ISA on such a list in future.

This could be because parents with young children are crying out for help with life admin, especially in the early years:

• On average, parents only get their heads around taking out a JISA for their child when they turn 3+ years old
• Those “lost” growth years means the child misses out on an additional £5,733 and £7,510 by the time they’ve reached 18 if saving didn’t start until year three or four respectively
• For every subsequent year’s delay the compounded loss increases. If parents wait until the child is 10 years old before taking out a JISA that equates to £15,412 less by the time the child reaches 18

One small line in the JISA rules is stopping extended family from stepping up:

• Currently the rules only allow parents or legal guardians to open a JISA for their child. Yet almost a third (32%) of parents said they would want the child’s grandparent to be able set up a JISA. 15% would like another relative to be able to set up a JISA. And 1 in 10 (9%) say they would like friends to be allowed to set one up
• In addition, 36% of extended family would set up a Junior ISA on behalf of their grandchild, nephew, or niece if Junior ISA rules were relaxed (Scottish Friendly Family Finance Tracker 2024)

Jill Mackay, savings specialist at Scottish Friendly, commented: “You can’t put a price on the benefit of building greater financial resilience, but you can put a pounds and pence number on the impact of delaying doing it.

“We know from research we conducted earlier in the year that over a quarter of extended family would set up a JISA on behalf of their grandchild, niece, or nephew if the rules allowed it. And now we can see there is a clear appetite amongst parents to let extended family help them with life admin when they have their hands at their fullest – from birth to four years old.

“Long after the latest fad toy has lost its lustre, the life opportunities that are opened up to a child through greater financial resilience as they enter adulthood provide a priceless gift that keeps on giving.”

Ms Mackay continued: “That is why we would love to see one small change made to the line in the JISA rules, to allow extended family to set up JISAs on behalf of their loved ones.

“It’s a small change that would make a big difference to young people and their families and it would allow extended family to give the gift of greater financial resilience in future. It might not be as fun to unwrap, but our research shows that parents would thank them for it!”