The short answer

For monthly saving over many years, expat families usually use an international regular savings plan (such as RL360, Hansard or Investors Trust) or monthly investing on a platform such as Ardan. For a lump sum, an offshore bond or platform account lets money grow until the fees fall due. A Junior ISA is excellent if your child already has one or qualifies, but most families living abroad can't open a new one. Keep the next year or two of fees in cash, and consider paying upfront for a discount. Match the currency to where the fees will be paid, check lock-ins and flexibility, and protect the plan with life cover. Lawrence will compare the options with you, free.

Education savings solutions at a glance

The main ways expat families in Thailand save for school and university, side by side.

Minimums from provider documents and our profiles, checked October 2026; Junior ISA limit from Which? (October 2026). Charges, terms and eligibility vary — always read the documents or ask Lawrence.

Four questions that decide the right solution

Before comparing providers, answer four questions. They narrow the field quickly.

1. How long until the fees are due?

Money needed within a year or two belongs in cash, because a market fall could leave you short. Money needed in five, ten or fifteen years can be invested for growth — and the longer the time, the more growth can do. At 8% a year, £250 a month from birth grows to about £120,000 by 18, against £54,000 paid in; started at age 10, it reaches about £33,500.

2. Monthly or lump sum?

Regular savings plans and platform monthly investing suit families building from income. Bonds and platforms suit a lump sum from a bonus, house sale or inheritance. Many families use both.

3. Which currency will the fees be paid in?

Thai international schools charge in baht; UK universities in pounds; US universities in dollars. Saving in the currency of the final bill — or one close to it — reduces exchange-rate risk. Our guide to education cost inflation and currency risk explains why.

4. How much flexibility do you need?

Some plans lock you into a set term with penalties for stopping early; others let you pause, reduce or withdraw. If your job, location or family plans may change, flexibility is worth paying for.

1. RL360 Regular Savings Plan

RL360 is an Isle of Man insurer widely used by expats in Asia. Its Regular Savings Plan is one of the best-known long-term monthly savings plans for international families.

• Minimum: from US$280 a month on the website, or £200 a month in the sterling version.
• Term: 10 to 25 years — long enough to cover school and university for a young child.
• Currencies: seven, so you can save in pounds, dollars and more.
• Investments: more than 350 funds.
• Flexibility: payment holidays and variable payments; bonuses for staying the course.
• Watch for: an establishment period of 18–24 months, and charges for stopping early. It's built for people who will keep saving.

Best for: families with young children who can commit to saving every month for 10 years or more. See our RL360 profile.

2. Hansard Ascend

Hansard is another Isle of Man provider with a long history among expats. Ascend is its regular savings plan, designed with more flexibility than many traditional plans.

• Minimum: from US$300 a month.
• Allocation: 100% of your payments are invested.
• Flexibility: withdrawals without penalty — useful if school fees arrive earlier than planned.
• Rewards: a loyalty bonus for staying invested.
• Watch for: ongoing charges, which affect long-term returns — ask for the full charges illustration.

Best for: families who want to save monthly but may need access before the end of the plan. See our Hansard profile.

3. Investors Trust Evolution and S&P 500 plan

Investors Trust offers some of the lowest monthly minimums among international savings providers, plus a plan with a guaranteed element.

• Evolution: from US$, £ or €100 a month, for 5 to 25 years. Surrender charges are waived after 15 years.
• S&P 500 plan: from US$200 a month for 10, 15 or 20 years, with a guaranteed 100%, 140% or 160% of premiums at the end, subject to conditions.
• Watch for: these are contractual plans — stopping early can be expensive. Read the conditions on the guarantee carefully.

Best for: families starting with a smaller monthly budget, or who value a guaranteed floor for a university fund. See our Investors Trust profile.

4. Ardan International platform

Ardan International is an Isle of Man wealth platform that works differently from traditional savings plans. Rather than a fixed-term contract, it's an investment account that can hold cash in up to 11 currencies, funds and model portfolios, with monthly or lump-sum investing.

• Minimum: no minimum investment.
• Charges: a 0.4% a year account fee, plus investment and adviser costs.
• Currencies: up to 11 — useful for families saving for fees in baht, pounds and dollars.
• Trusts: a free beneficiary trust, so money can pass to the children without probate.
• Access: through an adviser only.

Best for: families who want flexibility, multiple currencies and no long lock-in. See our Ardan International profile.

Where to start

Free planning to choose the right solution, a better rate for paying fees, and protection for the plan itself.

5. Offshore bonds for a lump sum

If you have a lump sum to set aside for education — from a bonus, a property sale or an inheritance — an offshore investment bond is one of the most common homes for it among expats.

• RL360 Oracle: from US$28,000, in seven currencies, with trust options.
• RL360 PIMS: a portfolio bond from £45,000.
• Hansard Global Select: a single-premium bond with trust options.
• Investors Trust Access Portfolio: typically from US$25,000–US$50,000.

Bonds let money grow with tax deferred while you live abroad, and allow regular withdrawals — under UK rules, up to 5% a year of the amount invested for 20 years without an immediate UK tax charge — which can be timed to match school fee dates. They can also be written in trust, so the money passes to the children directly if something happens to you.

Best for: lump sums of around US$25,000 or more, invested for five years or longer. Our guide to lump-sum funding for education explains how to match the money to fee dates.

6. Junior ISAs

For UK families, the Junior ISA is the standard way to save for a child: up to £9,000 a year in 2026/27, growing free of UK tax. Anyone can pay in, but the money is locked until the child turns 18, when it becomes theirs.

For expat families, the catch is eligibility. Parents living abroad can generally open a new Junior ISA only in limited cases, such as Crown servants. If your child already has a Junior ISA from before you moved, it can usually stay in place — check with the provider whether you can still pay in.

• Strengths: UK tax-free growth, low-cost providers, simple.
• Watch for: the child controls the money at 18 — it can't be ring-fenced for fees; and it's in pounds.
• Thai tax: money brought into Thailand may be taxable for Thai residents, depending on the rules at the time.

Best for: keeping an existing account going for a UK university fund.

7. Cash, deposits and Thai bank accounts

Cash isn't a long-term education savings plan — inflation and school fee rises of around 6–10% a year at some schools will erode it. But it is the right place for fees you'll pay in the next year or two.

Thai bank deposits are simple and in baht, which matches Thai school fees, though interest is low and subject to 15% withholding tax. Pounds or dollars in an international account may suit university money that will be paid abroad. Many families keep the next year's fees in cash and move money from investments into cash a year or two before each stage — a simple way to lock in gains.

8. Paying the school upfront

Some schools offer a discount for paying a full year at once — Wells International School, for example, offers 3% off for paying a year upfront, while paying in instalments can add 5–6%. Card payments may carry a 1–3% surcharge. If you have the cash, paying annually can be one of the safest "returns" available.

Check the school's refund policy before paying in advance — especially if a move might be possible — and use a specialist FX provider rather than a bank to convert large fee payments.

How the solutions compare on what matters

The features that matter most to expat parents, solution by solution.

A general comparison from provider documents and our profiles, October 2026. Charges and terms vary by plan and adviser — always ask for a full illustration.

Putting the pieces together

Few families use just one solution. A typical expat education plan combines several, each matched to a stage of the child's life.

• Long-term growth — a monthly plan or platform from birth or as early as possible, for secondary school and university.
• A lump sum — a bond or platform account for a windfall, timed to fee dates.
• Near-term fees — the next one or two years in cash, in the currency the school charges.
• Protection — life cover and income protection so the plan survives if a parent doesn't.
• Currency — a forward contract or regular transfers to fix the cost of future fees.

The earlier you start, the more growth pays. To reach £100,000 at 8% a year, you'd need to save about £208 a month over 18 years, £366 over 13 years or £747 over 8 years.

Compare schools on our international school finder, covering 178 schools across Thailand.

Saving for university as well as school

Many families focus on school fees and forget that university can be just as expensive — and paid in a different currency. UK tuition for home students is £9,790 a year in 2026/27, but children who have lived abroad may be charged international fees, which are much higher. US and Australian universities can cost more again.

Because university is further away, it's where long-term growth helps most. A plan started at birth has 18 years to grow; one started at age 10 has eight. If your children are likely to study in the UK, saving at least part of the fund in pounds reduces currency risk. Our guide to planning for overseas university fees covers fee status and costs in detail.

Saving for more than one child

With two or three children, fees overlap — and the total can be daunting. At a mid-range school costing around ฿825,000 a year, two children at school at the same time means more than ฿1.6 million a year before rises. Planning for siblings is less about one big pot and more about timing.

• A separate plan or account per child makes it easy to match money to each child's fee dates, and to write each one in trust for that child.
• Stagger the "move to cash" — the eldest child's university money needs to be safe years before the youngest's.
• Ask about sibling discounts — many international schools offer them, which changes how much you need to save.
• Start the youngest's plan early — it has the most time to grow, so a modest monthly amount can go a long way.

When grandparents want to help

Grandparents often want to contribute to their grandchildren's education — and it can be one of the most valuable gifts they make. How they do it matters.

Grandparents in the UK can pay into an existing Junior ISA, or give money to the parents to invest. A lump sum gift into a bond or platform account written in trust for the grandchildren can ring-fence the money for education. Grandparents can also pay school fees directly. Gifts may have UK inheritance tax implications for the giver, so larger gifts are worth discussing with an adviser.

In Thailand, gifts from parents and grandparents to descendants are exempt from Thai gift tax up to ฿20 million a year, so most family gifts for education are well within the limit. When money is moved from the UK, a specialist FX provider can make a big difference to how much arrives.

What happens to the plan if you move

Expat families move — and education savings need to move with them. International savings plans, offshore bonds and platforms are designed for people who live abroad and can usually continue wherever you go. Thai bank deposits stay in Thailand, and a Junior ISA stays in the UK.

The bigger question is tax. Withdrawals are generally taxed according to where you live when you take the money out, so a plan that's efficient while you live in Thailand may be taxed differently after a move — including a move back to the UK. Review before you move, not after. Our guide to policy portability for international families covers this in more detail.

Why charges matter over 18 years

Over a long savings period, small differences in charges add up to large differences in what your children receive. Take £250 a month from birth to age 18:

• Growing at 8% a year after charges — about £120,000.
• At 7% a year — one percentage point more in charges — about £107,700.
• At 6% a year — two percentage points more — about £96,800.

That's a difference of more than £23,000 — roughly two years of UK university tuition — from charges alone. When you compare plans, ask for every charge in money terms over the full term, including set-up, annual, fund and adviser charges, and what you'd pay if you stopped early. A slightly higher charge can be worth it for flexibility or a guarantee, but you should know what you're paying for.

Questions to ask any education savings provider

• What are all the charges — set-up, annual, fund and adviser — in money, not just percentages?
• What happens if I stop or reduce payments, and when do early-exit charges end?
• Can I withdraw money early if fees arrive sooner than planned?
• Which currencies can I save in, and can I switch?
• Can the plan be written in trust for the children?
• What happens if we move country — or return to the UK?
• How will withdrawals be taxed where we live when we take them?
• Who regulates the provider, and how is my money protected if it fails?

Protecting the plan

An education savings plan depends on someone continuing to pay into it. If a parent dies, falls seriously ill or loses their income, the plan may stop just when the children need it most. That's why protection belongs in every education plan.

Life cover sized to the remaining fees, written in trust, means the money is there if a parent dies. Income protection keeps contributions going during a long illness. And a plan or bond written in trust passes to the children without waiting for probate. Our guides to international life insurance for expat families and beneficiaries and cross-border policies explain how.

The most common mistakes

• Starting late — and losing years of growth.
• Investing money needed within two years — and selling after a market fall.
• Signing a long contract you can't keep up — early-exit charges can be steep.
• Ignoring currency — saving in one currency for fees in another.
• Forgetting university — often the biggest bill of all.
• Not comparing charges — small differences add up over 15 years.
• No protection — a plan that stops if a parent dies.
• No trust — money stuck in probate when the children need it.

Three real-world examples

These are illustrations, not real clients.

Anna and Mark — a newborn in Bangkok

They start a monthly plan in pounds from birth for a likely UK university, and keep the first years of international school fees in baht cash from their salaries. Life cover in trust protects the plan.

Sarah — a 9-year-old and a lump sum

Sarah receives £60,000 from her late mother's estate. She keeps two years of school fees in cash, invests the rest on a multi-currency platform with a beneficiary trust, and sets up a small monthly plan alongside it for university.

James — two teenagers, little time

With secondary fees already running, James pays each year upfront for a discount, moves his savings into cash ahead of each year's bill, and uses Vita Capital forwards to fix the cost of the first UK university year.

Your education savings checklist

1. Estimate the bill — school and university, with fee rises.
2. Note when each payment is due and in which currency.
3. Decide monthly, lump sum or both.
4. Compare solutions — minimums, charges, flexibility, currencies and trusts.
5. Keep near-term fees in cash.
6. Protect the plan with life cover and income protection.
7. Plan currency transfers for fee payments.
8. Review every year and move money to cash as each stage approaches.

Keeping your savings safe

Be wary of unsolicited offers of "guaranteed" school-fee plans, check that any provider is properly regulated, and always confirm school and provider bank details directly before sending money. Use a private, protected connection when you log in to savings and banking portals on public Wi-Fi.

How we compiled this directory

This directory draws on our provider profiles and their sources — RL360, Hansard, Investors Trust (including Mike Coady, July 2026, and Kevin Crowther, September 2026) and Ardan International product documents; Rathbones (March 2026) on offshore bonds; Which? (5 October 2026) on Junior ISAs; Thailand Starter Kit (4 August 2026) on school fees and payment discounts; and our university guide on UK fees. Growth figures are illustrations at 8% a year after charges, not guarantees. Checked 14 October 2026. This directory is general information, not personal financial advice.