Four in five people believe the Government shouldn’t make people switch savings out of cash Isas and invest instead, a This is Money poll shows.
Some 83 per cent said people should be free to choose the product they use, while 13 per cent said the Government should encourage the use of stocks and shares Isas instead of cash alternatives, but that they shouldn’t force people.
In comparison, just 2 per cent said savers should be forced to use a stocks and shares Isa, according to the poll of 8,723 of our readers.
Our poll asked: ‘Should the Government make people switch savings out of cash Isas and invest instead?’ (see below) and comes after financial firms called on the Chancellor to cut tax breaks for cash Isa savers.
Cash pot: Many savers who don’t feel that investing is right for them could suffer if Isa rules are changed
Earlier this month, it was revealed that City bosses have been lobbying Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reduce the allowance for these accounts, claiming that the £421billion held in cash Isas would be better put to use in stocks and shares Isas instead.
Concerns are that the high interest rates currently on offer are preventing some savers from investing money instead.
The Chancellor, reportedly, did not dismiss the idea outright.
However, others have argued that scrapping the current cash Isa allowance would discourage saving among those who don’t feel investing is right for them.
Investment platform Trading 212, which offers both types of Isa, said the lobbying move was ‘questionable in intent.’
Gabriel May, head of treasury at Trading 212, said: ‘It encourages saving by offering an attractive combination of a high interest rate, tax benefits, and flexible withdrawals.
‘People voted for cash Isa with hundreds of billions of their savings.’
Currently, the £20,000 Isa allowance can be split between cash Isas or stocks and shares Isas, with savers free to use their full allowance in either account or a balance of the two.
Data from 2022/2023 shows that the average Isa holding is £16,000 – below the annual allowance.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .