Savings account in child’s name can provide lifelong benefits

Savings account in child’s name can provide lifelong benefits

Washington, May 2: A study has found that opening a savings account in the child's name can provide lifelong benefits to the child. Child Development Accounts (CDAs) aresavings accounts that begin as early as birth. CDAs allow parents and children to accumulate savings for post-secondary education, homeownership or business initiatives. “There is evidence that when there are savings and assets in the household - particularly savings in a child’s name - that children have greater educational attainment, are more likely to do well in high school, attend college and graduate from college,” Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School, said. Sherraden, who recently was named to TIME Magazine’s Time 100, directs the Center for Social Development (CSD), which focuses much of its research on asset building. In the United States, there are a growing number of high profile CDA programs based on the work of CSD.