Could childcare vouchers help families hit by child benefit cuts?
A financial expert has underlined how many families are struggling to add to their savings – a situation which employers could help with by offering childcare vouchers. According to Kate Moore, head of savings and investments at Family Investments, a “combination of factors” is expected to make it harder for parents to set money aside each month in the future. These include government plans for stopping child benefit payments to people in the higher tax band and the loss of Child Trust Funds (CTFs), which are being scrapped from January 1st 2011. Family Investments has been providing CTFs since 2005 and Ms Moore said their loss will be a blow to many young families. “Currently there is no accessible and easy to use product to act as an alternative to the CTF and encourage parents to save. This needs to be urgently addressed,” she remarked. Another option may be for parents to ask their employers about joining a childcare vouchers scheme, which involves taking a paycut known as a salary
