New options for savers
Major reforms to the ISA system came into effect on 1 July 2014. A New ISA (NISA) was introduced with equal limits for cash and stocks and shares. This will allow savers to transfer funds from stocks and shares ISAs to cash ISAs allowing far greater flexibility. The changes were announced by the Chancellor as part of the 2014 Budget announcements.
The NISA has a far more generous annual investment limit of £15,000, an almost tripling of the existing cash limit of £5,940 and a significant increase from the current £11,880 for stocks & shares ISAs. All existing ISAs will become NISAs. Any subscriptions made to an ISA since 6 April 2014 will count against the £15,000 NISA subscription limit for 2014-15.
The Government estimates that over 6 million people will benefit from the higher limit. In addition, the limits for Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds have increased to £4,000 also from 1 July 2014.