Should I open a Junior ISA or a pension for my child?

A Junior ISA takes up to £9,000 a year in 2026/27, and the child can take the money out at 18.

Get a complimentary health check Talk to an adviser

A pension for a child takes up to £2,880 a year, topped up to £3,600 by basic-rate tax relief, and stays locked until the minimum pension age, which rises to 57 on 6 April 2028.

The advisers for this subject: Sunny Bharj and Tony Springer

Request a meeting Online financial health check

Limits for 2026/27

£9,000Junior ISA allowance, across cash and stocks and shares

£2,880the most you can pay into a child's pension

£3,600in the pension once basic-rate relief is added

gov.uk and HMRC Pensions Tax Manual, checked 26 October 2026. 2026/27 limits.

The minimum pension age from 6 April 2028. Until then it is 55.

The Junior ISA

Who can have one: A child under 18 living in the UK. A parent or guardian with parental responsibility opens and manages it, and the money belongs to the child.
Who can pay in: Anyone, as long as the total paid in from everyone stays within £9,000 in the tax year.
Cash or stocks and shares: A child can hold one cash Junior ISA and one stocks and shares Junior ISA. The £9,000 covers both.
At 16 and at 18: The child can take control of the account at 16 and withdraw the money at 18, when it becomes an adult ISA.
Before 18: Money can come out early only if the child is terminally ill, or after the child's death.
Child Trust Funds: A child cannot have both. A Child Trust Fund can be transferred into a Junior ISA.

A pension for a child

How much: A child with no earnings gets tax relief at 20% on up to £2,880 a year. The provider claims the relief and adds it, making £3,600.
Who pays in: A parent, grandparent or anyone else can pay in, net of basic-rate tax. Only the child can claim higher rate relief on it, and a child with no earnings has none to claim.
When it can be taken: Not before the minimum pension age, which is 55 today and rises to 57 on 6 April 2028. The age that applies when the child reaches it will be set by the law at that time.

Choosing between them

Money in a Junior ISA belongs to the child at 18, to spend as they choose. Money in a pension stays invested until at least 57 under current law, decades away for a child today, and gains 25% on what you pay in through tax relief.

You can pay into both in the same year, each within its own limit. The £100 rule for income from a parent's gift does not apply to a Junior ISA. Should I save into an ISA or a pension?

Basic-rate tax relief turns £2,880 paid into a child's pension into £3,600 in the pot.

Where this fits

We can compare the two against when you want your child to have the money and how far ahead you are saving.

Trusts for children Get a complimentary health check

The advisers for this subject

Sunny Bharj

Independent Financial Adviser

Tony Springer

Independent Financial Adviser

Advising through Equity & General Financial Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Check the firm on the FCA register under number 474163.