FAQS
Futurity signifies “future” and “security”. It reflects our aspiration as Australia’s leading issuer of tax-effective education bonds.
We support education through our community initiatives such as the National Excellence in Teaching Awards and by being a proud partner of The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program.
We represent members’ education interests by creating awareness of and stimulating debate on education issues of importance to our members, such as the cost of education and on increasing the choice, accessibility and affordability of education across Australia.
We collaborate with credible researchers to publish insightful research on matters of interest to our members and stakeholders, and by representing our members via actively lobbying and making submissions to authorities with the power to influence education policy decisions.
Futurity is ASG transformed. After 45 years of successfully supporting the education journeys of more than half a million children across Australia and New Zealand, we are Australia’s leading issuer of tax-effective education bonds and remain true to our proud history as an education-purposed mutual organisation.
Education Bonds are a tax-effective way for people (particularly high-income earners) to save and invest for education specific funding. These dedicated savings and investment vehicles allow you to keep your education savings separate from other investments. Importantly, these Bonds can be structured for many longer dated strategies (including for estate planning) with a term of up to 99 years able to be set.
The Family Education Bond is a savings and investment structure to fund the education needs of multiple Appointed Education Beneficiaries under one flexible Bond. Up to 10 Education Beneficiaries at any one time can be appointed under a Family Education Bond.
The Family Education Bond can operate like a special education purpose Family Trust structure with the inbuilt tax effectiveness of a traditional Education Bond. You as the Bond Owner have discretion to appoint and remove from a wide field of potential Appointed Education Beneficiaries from the Family Class and/or Friends Class.
An Individual Education Bond is set up with one individual Education Beneficiary per Bond. This one-to-one structure ensures that all the Bond’s benefits are earmarked and invested for that single Education Beneficiary. This provides certainty that each Education Beneficiary’s Bond is aligned to their specific age, education goals and timeframes. There are no restrictions on the number of Individual Education Bonds that can be taken out.
Yes, with a Family Education Bond you have wide discretion to appoint and remove Education Beneficiaries. For an Individual Education Bond you can replace the Nominated Education Beneficiary at any time.
No, the wide classes of Education Beneficiaries, including yourself, can be any age. You can even establish a Bond for not yet born children.
Yes, this can be done at any time. You can change the duration of your Bond Term whether a set number (up to 99) years, or set to end on the death of the Bond Owner or a specified period after such death.
Futurity Education Bonds are Tax-Paid investments meaning that we pay the tax on the Bond Owner’s behalf. There are no annual distributions paid to you as all earnings are included in the Bond’s growth and reflected within daily calculated unit price.
One of the distinct advantages of Education Bonds over Investment Bonds, is a special taxation benefit called the Education Tax Benefit.
The Education Tax Benefit is received when Education Benefit Claims are made from the Bond’s Earnings Component and represents a refund of the tax already paid by Futurity on the Bond’s investment earnings. This benefit is equal to $30 for every $70 withdrawn from the Earnings Component. Education Benefit Claims are tax assessable in the Education Beneficiary’s hands, rather than the Bond Owner.
These features make Education Bonds highly attractive as a flexible, tax-effective savings vehicle to fund education expenses for one or more Education Beneficiaries. The Bond Owner retains full control of their investment in case any unforeseen circumstances arise, or if they change their mind and want to use the Education Bond for non-education purposes.
Futurity Education Bonds are highly flexible and can cater to a range of lifelong expenses.
Education related drawdowns receive a special taxation benefit called the Education Tax Benefit. However, Bond Owners can still access funds for other purposes and may still achieve desirable tax outcomes. When a withdrawal is made for non-education related expenses, advantageous Investment Bond rules will apply.
We recommend that Bond Owners and prospective Bond Owners seek independent taxation advice.
There are no fees for establishment, additional contributions, claims/withdrawals or for exiting your Bond.
Management fees apply and consist of Futurity’s Management fee as well as investment management fees charged by Underlying Managed Funds on the Bond’s expansive investment menu. The total of these fees have a percentage impact on the net asset value of the selected Investment Options and is reflected in their unit prices.
Education Bonds are Tax-Paid investments - meaning throughout a Bond’s entire investment term, Futurity pays tax annually on behalf of you as Bond Owners. This tax is nominally stated at 30%, but much lower effective fund tax rates apply to most Investment Options.
A minimum Initial Contribution amount of $5,000 applies to Lump Sum plans.
For Savings Plans, you can start with an Initial Contribution of $1,000 and an ongoing Savings Plan of $200 per month. The Savings Plan can be converted to a Lump Sum plan once a total Bond value of $5,000 has been reached.
A maximum contribution limit of $600,000 per Education Beneficiary applies to each Individual Education Bond. Higher limits apply to Family Education Bonds.
You can use our Savings Escalator feature to increase your Savings Plan amount each year. You can select a rate between 0% and 25%, helping your Contributions keep pace with inflation.
There is a cooling off period of 14 days from receipt of the Confirmation Certificate should you change your mind regarding the investment. You will receive your funds back at the current unit price including any fees that were payable (initial advice and/or stamp duty).
What happens if the Education Beneficiaries completes their education and there are still funds left in the Bond?
If there are still funds left in the Bond and all education claims have been finalised, then the Bond Owner can either nominate a new Education Beneficiary or continue to make Other Withdrawals for non-education purposes. If the Bond Owner doesn’t nominate a new Education Beneficiary, you can fully withdraw funds or decide to continue holding it as an Insurance Bond with Tax Rules applying.
No - when considering investing into a Futurity Education Bond, it is important to understand that:
By using the Bond’s Estate Planning Features, Bond Owner’s can ensure their investment is treated in line with their wishes.
The Bond Estate Nomination feature ensures the proceeds of the Bond are paid to your Bond Estate Nominees if you die (and are the last surviving Life Insured) before the end of the Bond Term. This ensures that Bond Benefits pass to them outside of a Will and without going through the normal probate and estate procedures. Bond Estate Nominees can be changed at any time.
Future Activated Transfers allows you to have the ownership of your Bond transferred to another party (such as a child or grandchild) upon your death as Bond Owner or certain period after your death. The Transferee receives full ownership of the Bond in its tax-advantaged state.
Alternatively, a Bond Guardian can be appointed to act on behalf of a Bond Owner in the event of death, legal, physical or mental incapacity. The role of the Bond Guardian is to ensure that the original intentions for the Bond are carried out and must act in the best interest of the Education Beneficiary. The Guardian can act with restricted or full powers as elected by the Bond Owner.
We offer loans that are designed to take the pressure off paying large private school fee invoices more manageable.
The Tuition Instalment Loan helps to pay for school fees by term or semester and the Tuition In Advance Loan helps to pay for school fees annually in advance.
Either loan spreads the annual cost of your child’s tuition into weekly, fortnightly, or monthly repayments.
The Tuition Instalment Loan charges a 3% annual Service Fee that is based on the approved loan limit.
The Tuition In Advance Loan charges a 6% annual Service Fee that is based on the loan draw down amount.
For both loans the Service Fee is applied to your loan account on your first drawdown and repaid as equal instalments over the loan term. Use our loan repayment calculator to estimate the total annual Service Fee and relevant loan repayments that would apply to your chosen loan limit and payment frequency. The details of the assumptions used when calculating the estimate can be accessed below the calculator.
Once your application is approved, you can access the Education Loans Portal anytime to pay your school fee invoices via BPAY®.
The Education Loans Portal provides secure access to your loan account details.
Yes, you can. There are no penalties for paying out your loan early. Please contact the team on 1300 345 456 if you would like to make a lump sum repayment.
Your loan can continue to be used for future year's school fees subject to successful completion of your existing repayment schedule. As an existing customer, if you require a higher loan limit, you can apply for a limit increase via the Education Loans Portal.
Futurity Education Loans are designed specifically for private/independent school fees where the school does not offer a weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalment option.
They can be used to pay for any expense listed on a school invoice, including levies, music lessons, uniforms, school camps or electronic devices.
Parents can apply easily through our online application form and will hear back in two business days with a decision.The Tuition Instalment Loan charges an annual Service Fee of 3% of approved loan limit.
The Tuition In Advance Loan charges an annual Service Fee of 6% of the approved draw down amount.
The fee is applied to the loan account on first drawdown and repaid as equal instalments over the loan term.
Neither product charges an Application Fee or ongoing interest.
Once a loan is approved, customers are provided with access to the Futurity Education Loans Portal where they can view their account details. In addition, customers can draw down and pay their school fees from their loan at any time via BPAY®.
Alternative payment methods can be arranged if the school does not accept BPAY®.Futurity is regulated by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). Our Australian Credit Licence Number is 236665.
Our Education Loan products are regulated under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (NCCP) which includes the National Credit Code (NCC). Applicants for a Tuition Instalment Loan and Tuition In Advance Loan are assessed on their capacity to repay and are subject to a credit check. As part of our Responsible Lending obligations we are also required to ensure the loan itself is suitable for their needs and that they can demonstrate the capacity to repay.
Our regulatory obligations extend to adhering to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and ASIC guidelines for debt collection as well as a fully compliant Hardship policy and procedure.