Is it Time to Invest after the Recent Statement from the UK about ISA Savings and What the Changes Mean for Investors in Great Britain
For anyone considering starting out on the savings road, the
announcement from Britain’s 11 Downing Street that the yearly Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance is to be increased from its current level of seven thousand two hundred pounds to ten thousand two hundred pounds is highly welcome indeed and will probably persuade a substantial amount of prospective consumers to create an ISA as the first move in commencing to invest for the future.
This significant jump in the maximum limit that people are able to invest annually is a signal that the Government of the UK wants everybody to save using this means of investment.
For those not familiar with ISA’s (Individual Savings Accounts), a short summary may be beneficial. ISA’s are now over ten years old and even before the statement from Alistair Darling they had been regarded by many as a secure and reliable variety of tax free saving.
No income tax is payable when you invest in an ISA. Add to that the fact that no capital gains are payable on an ISA and the advantages of this means of saving become even more obvious.
Anybody who is a payer of tax and who is over the age of sixteen can get an isa savings account and they may do so with as low an investment as ten pounds. This highlights a important point in the Governments thinking
behind the creation of ISA’s – they are intended to encourage more citizens who have never saved before to begin making provision for their future.
Another important point for ISA’s is their versatility. You can select how you want to invest. There are different ways that are available when saving in an ISA ranging from cash ISA’s to stocks and shares ISA’s. You can just choose the one that you consider to be right for your circumstances.
A large number of savers see investing in a cash ISA as a really secure type of investment since the returns are likely to be fixed and should be reliable. Conversely stocks and shares ISA’s are thought likely to yield more but the drawback is that a far higher
element of risk attaches to this form of investment.
Presently the maximum amount that you may invest into a combination of ISA investments is ten thousand and two hundred pounds and the maximum that may be invested into a cash ISA is five thousand one hundred pounds. For savers whether new to investing or not, ISA’s are an increasingly attractive and versatile form of saving and should not be overlooked when considering potential investment options.
