ISAs have been simplified, believe it or not, over the years. You can now mix cash and stocks and shares, they’re treated pretty much the same (remember TESSAs and PEPs, kids etc.), and there’s been, since 2017, a straightforward £20,000 a year allowance. And no limits on the way out, so you can, if you live long enough, build up as many £ms as you want. However, various variations have been added, the now-defunct Help to Buy ISA and it’s cousin the Lifetime ISA, both, a cynic might say, as gimmicks to supposedly help young, prospective house-buyers. In that respect, neither has worked, as levels of ownership by the under -40s are at their lowest levels in decades and the amounts that can be saved and the restrictions on access aren’t much of an incentive. So, yes, I’d agreed with the committee, they’re an unhelpful complication. Getting rid of them won’t save anything for the government, as those still around will have to stay around, of course. And there’s unlikely to be any sort of quick fix for the problems they were thrown at. Hey ho.
“How to get rich in 2025”
Who wants to be a millionaire? Well, if you’re one of the 35% of the UK population renting long-term or of the 20% officially living in poverty, the answer’s ‘yes, please’.
