Can I buy Prize Bonds for a child?

jayjay2010

Looking to put a bit of money aside each year for my 2 nieces. Savings accounts have a terrible interest rate at the moment so Prize Bonds would be a nice little gift. Only going to be minor money saved anyway.

Can I buy Prize Bonds and put them in a child’s name? The idea is to give it to them when they are older.

Thanks

Delta2113

The following are the requirements in relation to the purchase of State Savings products including Prize Bonds for a Minor (under 18):

An application to purchase a State Savings product for a Minor can be made where the nominated Parent/Guardian of the Minor either:
●
Completes the Application Form on the Minor’s behalf or;

●
Sign the Consent Declaration Panel on the Application Form.


Where not previously provided, proof of name, address and PPSN are also required for the Minor.

Please note, the proof of address may be in the name of the Parent/Guardian but it must match the address supplied on the application form.

For more information on proof of identity documents see 'What documentation is required when purchasing a State Savings Product?'

Please note, Minors (under 18) may not purchase State Savings Products online as the Consent Signature of Parent/Guardian is required on each Application Form.

Prize Bond Gift purchase in the name of a Minor (under 18).

You may purchase Prize Bonds as a gift for a Minor.

For gift purchases of €100 or less the name and address details for both the recipient and the purchaser are required. Only the signature of the purchaser is required.

For a gift purchase in excess of €100, proof of name, address and PPSN are required for the purchaser and the recipient. The signatures of the purchaser and the nominated Parent/Guardian if the recipient is a Minor are also required.

Where a gift recipient’s overall holding in Prize Bonds exceeds €1,000, the Prize Bond Company will write to the gift recipient asking them to provide additional information and proof of identity documents.

Can someone other than a Parent/Guardian purchase State Savings products for a Minor?

Yes, however the Parent/Guardian must sign the consent declaration on the application form. Minors over 7 years of age will be required to sign any subsequent documentation, such as Change of Address Forms.

Can I open a Post Office Savings Bank Account for a Minor (under 18)?

Yes, an individual may open an account for a Minor. However, the Parent/Guardian of the Minor must sign the Consent Declaration Panel on the Application Form

What is required for a Minor (under 18) to open a Post Office Savings Bank Account?

An application to open a Post Office Savings Bank Account for a Minor can be made where the nominated Parent/Guardian of the Minor has signed the Consent Declaration Panel on the Application Form.

Where not previously provided, proof of name, address and PPSN for the Minor is also required. The proof of address may be in the name of the Parent/Guardian but it must match the address supplied for the Minor on the Application Form.

Can a child withdraw money from a Post Office Savings Bank Account without parent or guardian?

Once a Minor is 7 years of age they may operate the account totally independently of the Parent/Guardian.

In the case of an account opened for a child under 7 the Parent/Guardian must initiate a withdrawal instruction through State Savings, GPO, Dublin 1.

OU812

Yes you can, quite easily, however I'm cashing the ones I bought for my kids in. Have decided to use the month for Disney shares instead.

Instead of putting money into prize bonds (which actually have a worse return than savings account as they pay zero interest at all), put it aside, then buy them a share in one of the larger companies - Coke/Disney/etc when you've got enough funds together.

pwurple

You can, but please don't.

As a parent, these are incredibly difficult to track and cash in. Typos in names, incorrect addresses.. if you move house, address changes are messy. They earn zero interest. You might as well hand over money to the govt as a charity donation. I am a tenacious person and these are the only item I ever walked away from without managing to cash in. The system makes it nigh on impossible.