Latest news with #Newscast
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rachel Reeves rules out cutting ISA limit but remains vague on cash savings
Rachel Reeves has ruled out reducing the annual tax-free allowance on individual savings accounts (ISAs) but did not refer to the cash ISA limit specifically. There has been speculation that the chancellor might consider lowering the annual allowance on cash ISAs, in order to encourage more people to invest their money. Savers can currently put £20,000 tax-free into one ISA, or split this allowance across different types of ISAs, such as those in cash or stocks and shares. When asked about the allowance on the latest episode of the BBC's Newscast podcast, Reeves said that she was "certainly not going to reduce that limit". "I'm not going to reduce to limit of what people can put into an ISA," she said. "But I do want people to get better returns on their savings, whether that's in a pension or in their day-to-day savings, and at the moment a lot of money is put into cash or bonds, when it could be invested in equities, in stock markets and earn a better return for people." Reeves said that this was one of the reasons the government was "looking at advice and guidance that financial firms can give to their customers ... to make sure that people are making informed decisions about how to invest their money." "Whether that's their pensions, savings or their ISA savings, so those are things that we're looking at," the chancellor added. "I absolutely want to preserve that £20,000 tax free investment that people can make every year." However, Reeves did not specifically refer to the cash ISA limit in her comments. Read more: Pros and cons of lifetime ISAs Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The fact there won't be a change to the overall ISA limit is welcome in itself. The government has clearly been listening when it comes to the importance of choice, flexibility and information to support people making the best savings and investment decisions." It has been reported that Reeves is preparing to launch a review of the ISA market to look at how to reform the savings wrapper. "What is important now is that through the consultation process, there is some certainty over the cash ISA specifically," said Coles. "It's an overwhelmingly popular product and the cornerstone of millions of people's savings. They need to know they can rely on their allowances, so they can plan effectively." "Investing for the longer term clearly offers enormous benefits, so your money works harder and your financial freedom is closer at hand," Coles added. "However, savers can't be forced to invest by removing choice." According to the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) latest Financial Lives survey findings, published on Friday, 61% of UK adults with £10,000 or more in investible assets held all or at least three-quarters of these assets in cash. The survey also found that 39% of UK adults – the equivalent of 21.2 million – held investments in 2024. Excluding those with an investment property or other real investments (such as wine, art or jewellery) but with no other investment products, this proportion fell to 35%, which was down from 37% in 2022. Read more: Have you ever used financial advice for investing? Vote in our poll Greggs shares jump as sales improve with boost from 'viral' mac and cheese Bank of England cutting interest rates 'too fast', warns chief economistError while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rachel Reeves rules out cutting ISA limit but remains vague on cash savings
Rachel Reeves has ruled out reducing the annual tax-free allowance on individual savings accounts (ISAs) but did not refer to the cash ISA limit specifically. There has been speculation that the chancellor might consider lowering the annual allowance on cash ISAs, in order to encourage more people to invest their money. Savers can currently put £20,000 tax-free into one ISA, or split this allowance across different types of ISAs, such as those in cash or stocks and shares. When asked about the allowance on the latest episode of the BBC's Newscast podcast, Reeves said that she was "certainly not going to reduce that limit". "I'm not going to reduce to limit of what people can put into an ISA," she said. "But I do want people to get better returns on their savings, whether that's in a pension or in their day-to-day savings, and at the moment a lot of money is put into cash or bonds, when it could be invested in equities, in stock markets and earn a better return for people." Reeves said that this was one of the reasons the government was "looking at advice and guidance that financial firms can give to their customers ... to make sure that people are making informed decisions about how to invest their money." "Whether that's their pensions, savings or their ISA savings, so those are things that we're looking at," the chancellor added. "I absolutely want to preserve that £20,000 tax free investment that people can make every year." However, Reeves did not specifically refer to the cash ISA limit in her comments. Read more: Pros and cons of lifetime ISAs Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The fact there won't be a change to the overall ISA limit is welcome in itself. The government has clearly been listening when it comes to the importance of choice, flexibility and information to support people making the best savings and investment decisions." It has been reported that Reeves is preparing to launch a review of the ISA market to look at how to reform the savings wrapper. "What is important now is that through the consultation process, there is some certainty over the cash ISA specifically," said Coles. "It's an overwhelmingly popular product and the cornerstone of millions of people's savings. They need to know they can rely on their allowances, so they can plan effectively." "Investing for the longer term clearly offers enormous benefits, so your money works harder and your financial freedom is closer at hand," Coles added. "However, savers can't be forced to invest by removing choice." According to the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) latest Financial Lives survey findings, published on Friday, 61% of UK adults with £10,000 or more in investible assets held all or at least three-quarters of these assets in cash. The survey also found that 39% of UK adults – the equivalent of 21.2 million – held investments in 2024. Excluding those with an investment property or other real investments (such as wine, art or jewellery) but with no other investment products, this proportion fell to 35%, which was down from 37% in 2022. Read more: Have you ever used financial advice for investing? Vote in our poll Greggs shares jump as sales improve with boost from 'viral' mac and cheese Bank of England cutting interest rates 'too fast', warns chief economistError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rachel Reeves rules out cutting ISA limit but remains vague on cash savings
Rachel Reeves has ruled out reducing the annual tax-free allowance on individual savings accounts (ISAs) but did not refer to the cash ISA limit specifically. There has been speculation that the chancellor might consider lowering the annual allowance on cash ISAs, in order to encourage more people to invest their money. Savers can currently put £20,000 tax-free into one ISA, or split this allowance across different types of ISAs, such as those in cash or stocks and shares. When asked about the allowance on the latest episode of the BBC's Newscast podcast, Reeves said that she was "certainly not going to reduce that limit". "I'm not going to reduce to limit of what people can put into an ISA," she said. "But I do want people to get better returns on their savings, whether that's in a pension or in their day-to-day savings, and at the moment a lot of money is put into cash or bonds, when it could be invested in equities, in stock markets and earn a better return for people." Reeves said that this was one of the reasons the government was "looking at advice and guidance that financial firms can give to their customers ... to make sure that people are making informed decisions about how to invest their money." "Whether that's their pensions, savings or their ISA savings, so those are things that we're looking at," the chancellor added. "I absolutely want to preserve that £20,000 tax free investment that people can make every year." However, Reeves did not specifically refer to the cash ISA limit in her comments. Read more: Pros and cons of lifetime ISAs Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The fact there won't be a change to the overall ISA limit is welcome in itself. The government has clearly been listening when it comes to the importance of choice, flexibility and information to support people making the best savings and investment decisions." It has been reported that Reeves is preparing to launch a review of the ISA market to look at how to reform the savings wrapper. "What is important now is that through the consultation process, there is some certainty over the cash ISA specifically," said Coles. "It's an overwhelmingly popular product and the cornerstone of millions of people's savings. They need to know they can rely on their allowances, so they can plan effectively." "Investing for the longer term clearly offers enormous benefits, so your money works harder and your financial freedom is closer at hand," Coles added. "However, savers can't be forced to invest by removing choice." According to the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) latest Financial Lives survey findings, published on Friday, 61% of UK adults with £10,000 or more in investible assets held all or at least three-quarters of these assets in cash. The survey also found that 39% of UK adults – the equivalent of 21.2 million – held investments in 2024. Excluding those with an investment property or other real investments (such as wine, art or jewellery) but with no other investment products, this proportion fell to 35%, which was down from 37% in 2022. Read more: Have you ever used financial advice for investing? Vote in our poll Greggs shares jump as sales improve with boost from 'viral' mac and cheese Bank of England cutting interest rates 'too fast', warns chief economist
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ukrainecast Will Putin meet Zelensky in Turkey?
Available for over a year Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he's ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "personally" in Istanbul on Thursday for talks over ending the war. But is this meeting likely to materialise? And is this a smart move from Zelensky or a potential win for Putin? Lucy and Vitaly are joined by chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet to chew over the significance of a potentially conflict-changing meeting. Today's episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Ben Carter, Samantha Granville and Laurie Kalus. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@ with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480 You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast's Discord server here:
BBC News
04-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Newscast Local Electioncast: The Reaction! (Part 3)
Today, we look at how the political parties are reacting to this week's local election results. The Health Secretary Wes Streeting spoke to both Laura and Paddy to give the Labour view. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, the Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf were all on Laura's Sunday show. We also look at what party staffers are saying behind the scenes and how Zia Yusuf earned the cash that he's funding his party with. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast'. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Paddy O'Connell, Laura Kuenssberg and Henry Zeffman. It was made by Chris Flynn and Josh Jenkins. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.
