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Money Box: Money Box Live: Is the Isa on its last legs?

Saving with multiple accounts; Pension charges; Debts of the dead

17/02/2016

Money Box Live: Is the Isa on its last legs?

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box, Money Box Live: Is the Isa on its last legs?

Louise Cooper and guests ask whether the Isa is on its last legs.

Louise Cooper and guests debate: is the tax free ISA on its last legs? 

Interest paid on Cash Isas from major High Street banks has been falling steadily. While some current or savings accounts actually have better returns on your money, than if you'd left your cash in a tax free ISA wrapper. Why are rates on Cash Isas from major banks so poor? 

There's at least some good news for savers but ironically it won't help the ISA. When the Personal Savings Allowance comes into force in April, most of us will no longer be taxed on the interest we earn on our savings in banks or building society accounts. So we may choose not to put our savings in an ISA but chase better returns elsewhere.

Yet there are developments which could give the ailing ISA's profile a boost. Help to Buy Isas, launched by the Government last December to aid first time buyers, are very popular. More than a quarter of a million people have signed up for one since the launch. And for those people who want to take on a bit more risk for possibly better returns, there's the expected start of Peer to Peer ISAS, this April. 

So what is the future for the ISA?

Join Louise Cooper and guests. E mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk. Or ring 03 700 100 444 on Wednesday from 1pm.

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