Finance Choices
Is your child missing out on thousands?
The nation's teenagers could be missing out on thousands of pounds, simply by not having a savings or current account.
New figures from MORI reveal that 24 per cent of Britain's 16 year olds do not have such an account and are therefore unable to receive an Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA).
EMAs provide anyone still in education past GSCEs (be it a vocational course or A-Levels) with up to £30 a week, as long as their family income is less than £30,000.
But in order to receive this payment, the teenager must have a valid savings or current account for the money to be paid into.
"All it takes to start receiving EMA is to open a bank account, fill in a form with your parents or carers and then show you are committed to your course," said Celebrity Fame Academy's Reggie Yates who is backing the scheme.
Sixteen year olds in London are most likely to miss out, with 40 per cent of them not having bank accounts, while teenagers in the South East look best prepared to start receiving EMA as more than nine in ten of these have an operational account.
However, the Learning and Skills Council is urging all 16 year olds to make sure that they have an account, or risk missing out on the payments.
EMAs are available to people aged 16 or 17 between 1 September 2004 and 31 August 2005 as long as they spend at least 12 hours a week in guided learning.
As well as the weekly payments, students can earn £500 in bonuses over two years, depending on how well they do on their course.
Since it was launched nationally in March 2004 close to 300,000 students have signed up to the EMA scheme.
Students interested in applying for the scheme can call the EMA help line on 080 810 16219 or log on to www.direct.gov.uk/ema.
To find out some of the best savings and current accounts available have a look at the Finance Choices banking best buys table
New figures from MORI reveal that 24 per cent of Britain's 16 year olds do not have such an account and are therefore unable to receive an Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA).
EMAs provide anyone still in education past GSCEs (be it a vocational course or A-Levels) with up to £30 a week, as long as their family income is less than £30,000.
But in order to receive this payment, the teenager must have a valid savings or current account for the money to be paid into.
"All it takes to start receiving EMA is to open a bank account, fill in a form with your parents or carers and then show you are committed to your course," said Celebrity Fame Academy's Reggie Yates who is backing the scheme.
Sixteen year olds in London are most likely to miss out, with 40 per cent of them not having bank accounts, while teenagers in the South East look best prepared to start receiving EMA as more than nine in ten of these have an operational account.
However, the Learning and Skills Council is urging all 16 year olds to make sure that they have an account, or risk missing out on the payments.
EMAs are available to people aged 16 or 17 between 1 September 2004 and 31 August 2005 as long as they spend at least 12 hours a week in guided learning.
As well as the weekly payments, students can earn £500 in bonuses over two years, depending on how well they do on their course.
Since it was launched nationally in March 2004 close to 300,000 students have signed up to the EMA scheme.
Students interested in applying for the scheme can call the EMA help line on 080 810 16219 or log on to www.direct.gov.uk/ema.
To find out some of the best savings and current accounts available have a look at the Finance Choices banking best buys table
posted by Bruce Wayne at 2:46 PM
Is your child missing out on thousands?
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