What Happens to a Junior ISA at 18?
Your Junior ISA matures at 18. Discover how it converts to an adult ISA and understand your choices for managing these important funds.
A Junior Individual Savings Account (JISA) provides a tax-efficient way for children to save and invest. While similar concepts of saving for children exist in the United States, Junior ISAs are specific to the United Kingdom, offering a distinct framework for tax-advantaged growth. This article explains the process that unfolds when a JISA holder reaches 18 years of age, detailing the automatic conversion of the account and the subsequent options for managing the accumulated funds.
The Automatic Conversion
Upon the JISA holder’s 18th birthday, the account automatically transitions into an adult Individual Savings Account (ISA). This conversion ensures that the accumulated funds continue to benefit from their tax-free status within the ISA wrapper. Previously, a parent or legal guardian acted as the registered contact, managing the account on the child’s behalf. At 18, full legal control and management of the funds are transferred directly to the newly adult account holder, replacing the registered contact.
Financial providers typically initiate communication with the registered contact and the JISA holder several months before the 18th birthday to outline the upcoming changes. Payments into the JISA may be frozen in preparation for the transfer. If no specific instructions are provided by the account holder, the JISA commonly converts into a “matured” adult Cash ISA with the same provider.
While the account holder gains full control at 18, they can begin managing the JISA themselves from the age of 16. However, no withdrawals can be made from the JISA until the holder reaches their 18th birthday. This restriction helps ensure the long-term growth of the savings intended for the child’s future.
Managing the Funds After Conversion
Once the JISA has converted into an adult ISA, the 18-year-old account holder gains complete access to the funds and can decide how to manage them. One immediate option is to withdraw the money by contacting the ISA provider. This involves the provider verifying the account holder’s identity, which may require documentation such as a photo ID and proof of address.
Alternatively, the funds can remain within the tax-efficient ISA framework, allowing for continued growth. The account holder can choose to keep the money with the current provider in the converted ISA, continuing to contribute to it up to the annual adult ISA allowance, which is £20,000 for the 2025/26 tax year.
For those seeking different investment opportunities or better rates, the funds can be transferred to another ISA provider or a different type of adult ISA. This transfer must be completed through a formal ISA transfer process initiated by the new provider to preserve the tax-free status of the funds. Attempting to withdraw the money first and then depositing it into a new ISA would result in the loss of the tax-free wrapper for those funds.
The transfer process involves contacting the chosen new provider and completing their specific ISA transfer forms. Transfer times vary depending on the ISA type. The adult ISA landscape includes several types:
- Cash ISAs for savings
- Stocks & Shares ISAs for investments
- Innovative Finance ISAs for peer-to-peer lending
- Lifetime ISAs designed for first homes or retirement