Safeguard your children’s tomorrow by saving today

At Zurich we understand that planning for your children’s education is important to you. We have been carrying out research into the cost of education in Ireland since 2017 so we understand the costs involved in sending your children to primary and secondary school, and how the costs increase substantially when it comes to funding your children through college.

Saving for a child’s education is a long-term saving goal that increases the further a child goes through school and on into college, so it makes sense to have a savings plan in place to ensure all their needs are met.  

You might have a clear idea of how much you need to save to meet your children’s educational needs, but equally you might not know as the cost of education can change and you could be saving for college which may be many years from now.

Either way, saving and investing wisely can help you plan ahead and build up your savings year-on-year to ensure you have enough money to cover your children’s education costs.

Investing

Savings on deposit might seem like the obvious way to save for your children's education, but bank savings will earn you a low interest rate. Investing on the other hand could potentially give you a greater return on your investment and could see your funds grow at a faster rate.

You might think that investing is complicated, but it is a lot more straightforward than you think. At Zurich we are here to help guide you on your journey so you can make the right decisions for you. Our beginners guide to investing can help you figure out how much you can afford to save, the investment options available and how to choose the right investment funds for you.

We have a number of saving and investment products suitable to a variety of savings goals. So, get some financial advice to get you started.

How much to save

When it comes to investing your savings, a little can go a long way, and investing in a fund can give you the opportunity to earn an inflation beating return over the medium to long-term. With a Zurich Regular Savings  plan you can save from as little as €100 per month and you have the flexibility to choose the funds you want to invest in. You can also access your savings if you need to.

Regular savings can grow quickly over a short period of time, and for some parents, saving the monthly child benefit of €140 per month is a good way of getting into the habit of saving each month.

The table below illustrates just how much regular savings can grow with a Zurich LifeSave Savings Plus plan. For example, if you saved the Government child benefit of €140 per month for five years (as of December 2024) in the Prisma 4 fund from when your child was born, by the time they started school you could have built up savings of €8,995 in time to fund this crucial stage in their education. If you continued saving for 12 years, you could have a potential savings fund of over €23,000.

Tools to help you achieve your savings goal

At Zurich, we want to help you plan for your children’s future educational needs. We have lots of tools you can use to help plan ahead. For example, our Cost of Secondary School Calculator is a tool that helps you work out how much you need to save to cover the costs of putting children through secondary school. Our Cost of College Education Calculator will show you the estimated costs of sending your children to college so you can see how much you might need to save each month to meet these college costs.

We also have a Investment Growth Calculator which will give you an idea of what to expect your savings to grow to over a specific time and the funds you can invest in.

Take the next step

Sound advice is invaluable, so it’s a good idea to seek advice from a financial broker or advisor who can guide you through the process and help you select the right savings plan for your circumstances.

Contact Zurich  Find a broker in your local area Apply online for a regular savings plan

The information contained herein is based on Zurich's understanding of current Revenue practice as at 1st January 2025 and may change in the future. 

*Generally speaking, over the medium to long term, higher risk investments offer the potential for higher returns compared with lower risk investments.  Over the period the Prisma 4 Fund has shown savings both up and down in price compared with the Bank Deposit which shows straight line growth, but the investor has been rewarded for this risk through a higher return.  The capital in a Bank Deposit account is normally secure.