Parents invest more in welfare for their children

Ensuring their children a comfortable financial situation is usually one of the main concerns of fathers and mothers when thinking about the care needed in raising heirs.

Considering the long-term horizon for accumulating a reserve until a certain objective is reached, such as paying for college or an exchange trip, private pension funds usually appear as one of the main recommendations of specialists when making the selection of investments for the children.

The system of regressive rates according to time, with a percentage that drops to 10% of incidence of IR (Income Tax) after a period of ten years, compared to up to 15% in shares or fixed income, and the fact that charging the “come-quotas” (an advance payment of taxes every six months on the income of fixed income, multimarket and exchange funds) are mentioned by Victor Bernardes, director of life and pensions at SulAmérica, among the benefits offered by private pensions in relation to to other types of investment in the market.

The appeal, which also includes benefits at the time of succession, has been reflected in greater contributions to the category. Data from the National Federation of Private Pensions and Life (Fenaprevi) show that the plans that have children under 18 as beneficiaries received BRL 1.75 billion in contributions from January to August this year, an increase of almost 30% compared to same period last year.

“Time is a preponderant factor to generate value to the customer in an exponential way”, says Henrique Diniz, director of pension products at Icatu.

Simulations carried out by Icatu Seguros at the request of Sheet indicate that, with monthly contributions from R$ 320, it is possible to reach a reserve of R$ 150 thousand in a period of 18 years to finance, for example, the child’s college.

If the investment starts when the child is 3 years old, the value of the monthly contribution rises to R$ 441, and to R$ 827, if the child is 8 years old.

The insurer’s estimate assumed an average real rate of return (discounting inflation) of 8% per year in the interval and does not consider income tax.

Diniz also states that the pension category also has the advantage of allowing the portability of the amount invested between the different types of fund without the collection of tax, giving the saver the freedom to migrate the investments elsewhere if he is not happy with the results. obtained, or depending on the stage of life you are in, without having to redeem the application, when there is an IR charge, to reinvest in another alternative.

Superintendent of Brasilprev products, Sandro Bonfim adds that the private pension market in the country started to adopt in recent years a model known as “life cycle”.

Through it, the client determines the year in which he will need the amount invested to meet a goal for his child or for his own retirement, and, as the established deadline approaches, the managers responsible for the fund automatically reduce exposure to the portfolio risk.

In this way, it is possible to prevent the investment from being in classes of greater volatility when there is little time left for the deadline to be reached. On the other hand, while there is still plenty of time until the date selected for the redemption, the manager will be able to allocate the funds in markets with greater risk and return, since the investment will have time to recover from any losses suffered, says Bonfim.

Management fees are the main cost of funds, which used to vary within a range between 0.5% and 2% per year, depending on the chosen strategy.

“The product intended for children has an emotional appeal that no other product has”, says the superintendent of Brasilprev. “It is common to hear from clients that they are no longer able to invest for themselves, but that the remaining money they invest for their children, for the dream of seeing them in college.”

Experts advocate working on financial education with young people to become financially responsible adults

In addition to creating a financial reserve for children, working on financial education at home from an early age, so that children grow up already having a good idea of ​​the importance of knowing how to deal with money, is an aspect considered fundamental by specialists for that, in the future, they become financially well-organized adults, avoiding falling into traps such as high interest rates and indebtedness.

Investment director of the Warren fund platform, Celson Placido says he seeks to instill in a practical way important concepts about finance to the twins Eduardo and Sofia, 11 years old.

One of the ways sought for this is through trips to supermarkets, in which the father gives his children an amount of money so that they can research and buy the item they want.

Placido says that, over time, he began to deliver a lower price so that the twins could shop in the market, to reflect the corrosive impact of inflation on purchasing power.

And yet, says the proud father, the children were able to buy even more items than when they had more money at their disposal.

“They started to pay more attention to prices, about how much each product is worth, they substituted a more expensive one for a more affordable one, they bought items on sale, and today they even question whether there is a discount in cash or how many times they can pay in installments on the credit card. credit”, says the director of Warren, adding that goodies such as cookies and chocolates are usually among the favorite items of the duo.

Placido also states that, in addition to the financial education work he does with his children, he also invests in pension plans and life insurance, especially as a precaution against some kind of unforeseen event. These are options that, in the event of the holder’s death, can be easily accessed by the heirs, without having to go through an inventory process.

Economist and financial educator, Juliana Barbosa says that she also tries to teach her children Lucas, 10, and Davi, 4, about concepts related to finances and about the importance of financial organization so that they develop a good understanding of how to deal with money. .

“It is important to show children since they were small that money does not grow on trees and that it is necessary to work and dedicate yourself to manage these resources well”, says the specialist.

With her youngest son, Juliana says that the classic piggy bank, with the deposit of coins to gradually form a financial reserve, is the strategy adopted for him to have his first contacts with money and start having a sense of the importance of saving.

“I show him that the piggy bank is used to store the coins so that, waiting for the right time, he can fulfill his dreams, like buying a ball or a toy.”

The oldest, in turn, has already passed the piggy bank stage and has a digital account opened in 2020 at Banco Inter, with a debit card with which he makes his own purchases.

With a little more age, Lucas is already being taught about important concepts such as compound interest, the yield of an investment in the bank and the dangers of indebtedness, and he already has an application in a CDB made through the investment platform of XP.

“We live in a very immediate and consumerist society, and when children are taught from an early age the importance of financial organization, they will be adults who will not buy on impulse and will not accumulate debts that they cannot pay”, says Juliana.