Richard and Caitlin Brain, who live in Swansea, pay £50 a month into pension accounts for each of their children, aged 20 months and five months. The money cannot be accessed until the children reach 57 under current UK private pension fund rules, meaning the eldest will wait until 2082 and the youngest until 2083.

Richard, 30, who works for an investment firm, says the long time horizon allows the money to grow substantially. He and his wife, 28, also contribute £60 monthly per child to Junior ISA savings accounts, which the children can access at 18. Combined with £200 monthly into their own pensions, the couple say they live more frugally than before, eating out less often and spending less on birthday and Christmas gifts.

Junior self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) for children were introduced in the UK in 2001. Parents can pay up to £2,880 annually, and the government adds £720 in tax relief to reach £3,600. According to industry figures, take-up is rising. Hargreaves Lansdown reported two and a half times as many accounts opened in the 12 months to April 2026 compared with the previous year. Fidelity said account numbers more than tripled since December 2023.

Jemma Slingo, a pensions specialist at Fidelity, said that paying £50 monthly from birth, including tax relief, would mean a family contributes £10,800 over 18 years. The pot could grow to around £135,000 by retirement.

Fifteen-year-old Hugo Thompson from Manchester, whose parents have paid the maximum into his Junior SIPP for 10 years, said: "The money invested means perhaps I'll be ahead when I'm older. So I won't have to put quite so much of my own money in. I want to retire earlier than the state pension age so this will all help."

Hugo's mother, Annabel, who works in finance, said Junior SIPPs should only be considered "once you feel you have enough money of your own."

In the US, President Donald Trump launched Trump Accounts in July, allowing families, friends and employers to contribute up to $5,000 per child annually. Children can access the funds from age 18, though early withdrawals before 59 and a half are subject to taxes and a 10% penalty. Wally Luckeydoo, a personal finance teacher in Tennessee, opened Trump Accounts for his children, aged four and three. He said he sees it as "giving them a head start and helping change the trajectory of our family financially."