ISA savings accounts not being utilised, says survey

Monday, 23 Mar 2009, 10:05am
ISA savings accounts not being utilised, says survey

ISA savings accounts are not being utilised to their full extent by savers in the UK, according to research published recently.

ISA savings accounts have "lost momentum" according to a poll published recently, as many people in the UK are struggling to save any money at all.

The survey, conducted by moneysupermarket.com, reveals that only six per cent of people in the UK have saved enough over the last two years to use the full tax-free savings allowance offered by ISA savings accounts.

Furthermore, of those people who have put money into an ISA savings account, the average investment in the past two years has been less than half of the allowance - at just over £3,100.

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Those with savings would be wise to make use of their cash ISA allowance."

He added that people who have used their full cash ISA allowance for each of the past ten years would be around £41,600 better off now, having earned £11,000 in interest alone.

ISA savings accounts were established by the government in 1999.

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