GRcade

Not personally, though I always meant to.

My ex's dad was a financial advisor and he said they were generally a good thing to get into. I'd read into it as much as you can before deciding though.

I did this whenever I worked at Tesco. It was really nice having a windfall like that.

Im in one at work thats due to mature at the end of this year.
On the other hand we may be getting purchased for about £2.50/share more than my buy in price, so might get a little windfall from that.

My previous employer offered it, I dont know if every scheme is the same but I had a good experience with it. The way the scheme worked is you paid in for 6 months, up to 5% of your salary, this was pooled and then at the end of the 6 months the shares were purchased for 85% of the lowest price in that 6 months, so even if the stock jumped (due to your hard work) you got a good price for it. Once the shares were bought it was in my private shares account and I could do whatever I wanted with them. The 5% was also taken before tax so there was a saving made there as well, basically not paying tax on 5% of my earnings which is nice. I took part for about 18 months before I left the company, I chose to sell the shares when I left but I could have kept them if I wanted to. Selling them was as easy as entering my bank details and pressing sell, there was no messing around or anything.

You also had the option of taking your bonus or part of it in shares instead of as payroll, I never did this but it was a handy way to get even more shares if you wanted it.

You need to declare any earnings you make from the transaction so it can be taxed, but you only get taxed on the profit you made. So if you paid in £1000 but sold the shares for £1200 you get taxed on the £200 gain you made. Its a decent savings scheme if your company has solid reliable stock but there is the risk you lose everything as if the company goes down it takes your savings with it.

Like I said I had a good experience with it and its something I would take part in again if the oppertunity ever arose.

I think there are positive aspects but I'd also suggest a degree of caution. I worked for a bank for a number of years and participated in share schemes. It was great for a few years but, following the market downturn in 2008, I lost the vast majority of the value. It was an absolute kick in the nuts.

I would take part again if the opportunity arose but I would spread my money over a wider array of companies rather than concentrating on one. It can be great when the going is good but you can get into a sticky situation when things change.

As with any financial investment, diversify your money and be alert to changes that may mean it's time to take your cash out.

The Share Save scheme we have at my place gives you the option at the end of it. You can keep the shares, immediately sell them for current market value, or just have all of the money you paid into the scheme paid back to you as a lump sum. That makes it basically risk free since if the share price plummets you can just get a refund.

O Raxmas Tree wrote:My previous employer offered it, I dont know if every scheme is the same but I had a good experience with it. The way the scheme worked is you paid in for 6 months, up to 5% of your salary, this was pooled and then at the end of the 6 months the shares were purchased for 85% of the lowest price in that 6 months, so even if the stock jumped (due to your hard work) you got a good price for it. Once the shares were bought it was in my private shares account and I could do whatever I wanted with them. The 5% was also taken before tax so there was a saving made there as well, basically not paying tax on 5% of my earnings which is nice. I took part for about 18 months before I left the company, I chose to sell the shares when I left but I could have kept them if I wanted to. Selling them was as easy as entering my bank details and pressing sell, there was no messing around or anything.

You also had the option of taking your bonus or part of it in shares instead of as payroll, I never did this but it was a handy way to get even more shares if you wanted it.

You need to declare any earnings you make from the transaction so it can be taxed, but you only get taxed on the profit you made. So if you paid in £1000 but sold the shares for £1200 you get taxed on the £200 gain you made. Its a decent savings scheme if your company has solid reliable stock but there is the risk you lose everything as if the company goes down it takes your savings with it.

Like I said I had a good experience with it and its something I would take part in again if the oppertunity ever arose.

Shouldn't you only get taxed if on profits exceeding the allowance though? I don't think you need to pay any tax unless your profit from releasing shares exceeds something like £10,000.

I've been in a few share shave schemes at work and would generally recommend it, although it should be remembered that they all work differently so read up on the specifics of your scheme before making any decisions.

Generally it is in your employer's interest to make these things an attractive prospect for you as it's mutually beneficial - you get the option to gain some money and they get more people investing in their shares.

As long as you're confident in the company share save scheme's are an excellent way to save money and feel like you have a stake in it as well.
Companies generally like having share scheme's as it promotes staff retention and hopefully lifts moral during good times.

Lastpostamorph wrote:The Share Save scheme we have at my place gives you the option at the end of it. You can keep the shares, immediately sell them for current market value, or just have all of the money you paid into the scheme paid back to you as a lump sum. That makes it basically risk free since if the share price plummets you can just get a refund.

That’s how our one has always worked. It’s risk free as you are always guaranteed your money back.

My firm hasn’t offered it for a few years, but I always got decent returns when it was there.

Jenuall wrote:

O Raxmas Tree wrote:My previous employer offered it, I dont know if every scheme is the same but I had a good experience with it. The way the scheme worked is you paid in for 6 months, up to 5% of your salary, this was pooled and then at the end of the 6 months the shares were purchased for 85% of the lowest price in that 6 months, so even if the stock jumped (due to your hard work) you got a good price for it. Once the shares were bought it was in my private shares account and I could do whatever I wanted with them. The 5% was also taken before tax so there was a saving made there as well, basically not paying tax on 5% of my earnings which is nice. I took part for about 18 months before I left the company, I chose to sell the shares when I left but I could have kept them if I wanted to. Selling them was as easy as entering my bank details and pressing sell, there was no messing around or anything.

You also had the option of taking your bonus or part of it in shares instead of as payroll, I never did this but it was a handy way to get even more shares if you wanted it.

You need to declare any earnings you make from the transaction so it can be taxed, but you only get taxed on the profit you made. So if you paid in £1000 but sold the shares for £1200 you get taxed on the £200 gain you made. Its a decent savings scheme if your company has solid reliable stock but there is the risk you lose everything as if the company goes down it takes your savings with it.

Like I said I had a good experience with it and its something I would take part in again if the oppertunity ever arose.

Shouldn't you only get taxed if on profits exceeding the allowance though? I don't think you need to pay any tax unless your profit from releasing shares exceeds something like £10,000.

I've been in a few share shave schemes at work and would generally recommend it, although it should be remembered that they all work differently so read up on the specifics of your scheme before making any decisions.

Generally it is in your employer's interest to make these things an attractive prospect for you as it's mutually beneficial - you get the option to gain some money and they get more people investing in their shares.

That may well be the case, all my info was based on working in Ireland so things could be different in the UK.

I worked in a stockbrokers for 11 yrs many years ago and saw many many employees of many different companies who were selling their sharesave scheme shares. Without exception everyone made a decent return.

Back in them days schemes allowed you to save your £250/mth or whatever and at the end of the term if you didn't exercise your right to buy the shares then you could elect to get your cash back which was paid out with a decent return of interest too.

In my experience they have been a no-lose situation. Of course things may have changed now and you should check the terms regarding accessing your money either at full term or before buy I would expect that you couldn't lose.