Estate planning
Controlled Access Account
A gift released to beneficiaries in pre-set tranches on chosen dates, so a large sum does not arrive in a young beneficiary’s hands all at once.
Glendalough, Co. Wicklow · Superbass, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who it is for
Clients gifting to children or grandchildren
What it does
- Release dates fixed at outset
- Separate trust fund per beneficiary
- Trustees may defer but not accelerate a release
- Segmented to match the release schedule
The product in full
The problem this product solves is not tax. It is that £150,000 arriving in the hands of a nineteen-year-old is rarely a kindness. A client who wants to make a substantial gift to children or grandchildren often wants the gift made now, for the clock, and received later, for everybody’s sake.
The Controlled Access Account fixes a release timetable at outset. Each beneficiary has their own trust fund, and each fund releases in tranches on dates chosen when the trust is written — at 21, 25 and 30, say, or on a graduation, a set of birthdays, or whatever pattern fits the family. Segmentation is arranged to match the schedule so each release is a clean encashment rather than a partial surrender.
The trustees may defer a release but not accelerate one. That asymmetry is deliberate and it is the whole safeguard: a beneficiary in difficulty can be protected by delay, and a beneficiary who is impatient cannot talk the trustees into an early payment. Without it, a fixed timetable would be a suggestion.
Literature
Product literature is issued to appointed intermediaries. Ask your underwriter, or request it through the enquiry form.
- Trust deedOn request
- Release schedule templateOn request
How it works
What happens, in order
From the first enquiry to the point the cover, the contract or the facility is in place.
The beneficiaries and the schedule are set
One trust fund per beneficiary, with release dates and proportions fixed at outset. From £25,000.
Segmentation is arranged to fit the schedule
So each release encashes whole segments rather than cutting across the fund.
The fund is invested until each date
By the trustees, across the available range.
Releases are paid on the dates chosen
Automatically, in the proportions set at outset.
Trustees may defer, and only defer
Where a release would not be in the beneficiary’s interests. They have no power to accelerate one.
The numbers
A worked example
Illustrative arithmetic, so the shape of the product is visible rather than described. Nothing here is a quotation or a projection.
£150,000 for one grandchild, released in three tranches
A representative schedule. Values at outset; each tranche is worth whatever the fund is worth on its date.
- Trust fund for this beneficiary
- £150,000
- Release at 2120% — education and setting up
- £30,000
- Release at 2530% — typically a property deposit
- £45,000
- Release at 3050% — the balance
- £75,000
- Trustee power to defer
- Yes, at any release
- Trustee power to accelerate
- None
- Segments arranged
- To match the three tranches
Illustrative and shown at outset values. The amounts released depend on the value of the fund on each date. Not tax advice: the gift into this trust has the ordinary consequences of a settlement, and the client’s own advisers should confirm them.
The release schedule
The illustrative £150,000 fund above, and what is released against what remains held.
View these figures as a table
| Released to the beneficiary | Still held by the trustees | |
|---|---|---|
| At 21 | £30k | £120k |
| At 25 | £45k | £75k |
| At 30 | £75k | £0k |
Suitability
Where the Controlled Access Account fits
The cases it answers, the cases it does not, and what an underwriter needs before quoting.
It is the right answer when
- Gifts to children or grandchildren who are young now.
- Families who want the gift dated now and received on a timetable.
- Cases where several beneficiaries should each have their own fund and schedule.
Look at something else when
- A client who wants trustees to have full discretion over timing — the Gift Trust or Wealth Preservation Account gives them that.
- A client who needs the capital or an income from it.
- Gifts below the £25,000 minimum.
What we need to quote
- 1.The settlor’s details, the premium and source of funds evidence.
- 2.Each beneficiary, their fund, and the release dates and proportions.
- 3.The trustees, and confirmation of the client’s own tax advice.
Questions
What brokers ask us about this product
Why can trustees defer but not accelerate?
Because a timetable that could be brought forward is not a timetable. Deferral protects a beneficiary; acceleration would only ever be used to override the settlor’s intention.
Can the schedule be changed after execution?
The schedule is fixed at outset. Get it right before signing — it is the one part of this structure that cannot be revisited.
What if a beneficiary dies before a release?
The deed governs it, and the drafting should be settled with the client’s adviser at outset rather than discovered later.
Request information
Ask us about the Controlled Access Account
The form reaches an underwriter in Dublin. If you are an intermediary, say so and we will route it to the broker desk.