Martin Lewis has spoken about when he thinks the new British ISA announced in the Spring Budget will launch.
Savers will get an additional £5,000 annual allowance to save into the British ISA, on top of the existing £20,000 allowance, with the savings to be invested in UK companies.
Mr Lewis told listeners to his BBC podcast: “The consultation is due to end in June so I think you might see this sometime around September.”
He said the account would suit savers with “slightly bigger pockets” who have the funds to invest in the British ISA.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert explained: “There are quite a lot of people who have that type of money saved in ISAs.
“They’ll be able to put a little bit more away tax free as long as they’re investing in British assets, and that is to try and give a little fill up to investments in Britain.”
Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, pointed out that Britons don’t have to wait until September rolls around to invest their savings in UK businesses.
He said: “Many already do, and though UK funds have fallen out of favour in recent years, investment in individual UK stocks by DIY investors is still very common.
“They’ll be able to put a little bit more away tax free as long as they’re investing in British assets, and that is to try and give a little fill up to investments in Britain.
“In theory investors can invest all of their £20,000 ISA allowance into the UK stock market, but that’s putting a lot of eggs in one basket.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also announced a new British Savings Bond would be made available through NS&I, with the Bonds also to be invested in British businesses.
NS&I has since released more details about how the Bonds will work, explaining that they will be on offer as a three year fixed rate for the savings giant’s Guaranteed Growth Bonds and Guaranteed Income Bonds.
The Bonds are due to launch in early April, with savers able to invest up to £1million in the Government-backed scheme.
Mr Lewis said of the Bonds: “What we don’t know yet is the rate – above five percent, it would look pretty competitive and you probably should be doing it.
“Below five percent, it won’t look that competitive and you probably shouldn’t do it unless you specifically want to support Britain.”
Information on the NS&I website about the new savings option stated: “Like all savings from NS&I, your money will be 100 percent secure, backed by HM Treasury, and your savings will be invested back into supporting the UK.”
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