More than 300,000 children have already had their parents or relatives open Treasury Start securities accounts, or Baby Bonds, the Secretary of State responsible for families of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.

Ágnes Hornung reminded that the amount deposited there earns interest at three percent above the average inflation of the previous year, and the payments are accompanied by government support that has been doubled since last year.

The numbers show that more and more families are taking advantage of the opportunity to make the future life of their child or children easier with this favorable form of savings. "Almost HUF 200 billion is registered in the securities accounts," he wrote.

According to the State Secretary's information, every newborn with Hungarian citizenship automatically receives HUF 42,500 start-of-life support, which the Hungarian State Treasury deposits into a start-of-life deposit account in the child's name. This amount earns interest on the deposit account at a rate equal to inflation.

If the parent, legal representative or other relative opens a Start account for the child at the Hungarian State Treasury, then the amount of the start-of-life support is transferred to it, and interest is further paid on the Baby bond with a higher annual yield. In this case, parents and relatives can also increase the savings with their contributions. After these payments, there is a ten percent state subsidy, the maximum of which increased from HUF 6,000 to HUF 12,000 per year as of January 1, 2022. All this means that with a monthly payment of ten thousand forints, you can get the maximum state support, he reminded.

In addition, the Baby Bond bears interest at three percent above the average inflation rate of the previous year. In the case of children who are entitled to a regular child protection benefit and who have been brought up, the state support also increased last year from HUF 12,000 to HUF 24,000, he said.

He also mentioned that not only the parent, but also other relatives of the child can open a Start account and increase it with their deposits. Account opening can be done not only in person, but also through the Customer Portal.

Contrary to its name, the Baby Bond can be opened not only for newborns, but also at any time up to the child's 18th birthday. The child (young adult) can dispose of the savings from the day they turn 18, but at the earliest from the third year after the opening of the Start account, he wrote.

From January 1, 2018, thanks to the Köldökzsinór program, Hungarian children living abroad can also apply for start-of-life support. A Start account can also be opened for them, so the related state subsidies are the same as for Hungarian children living in Hungary, said Ágnes Hornung.

According to the data, more and more people decide to open a Start securities account for their child at the Hungarian State Treasury in order to continue to earn interest on their savings in Baby Bonds, he indicated.

According to his description, about 34,500 new Treasury Start securities accounts were opened last year, and in December the number of active Treasury Start securities accounts exceeded 300,000.

Compared to the previous year, 2021, the number of new Treasury Start securities account openings increased, within which the number of Start accounts transferred from credit institutions to the Hungarian State Treasury approximately doubled. On December 31, 2022, a total of almost HUF 199 billion was registered in the approximately 302,000 active Treasury Start securities accounts, according to the state secretary's social media page.

MTI

Cover photo: 13-time world champion, 9-time European champion kayaker Szilvia Szabó buys a baby bond at the Állampénztári Customer Service-Securities Distribution V. district office on February 3, 2014.
MTI Photo: Balázs Mohai