ISA season fuels saving, says Nationwide

Tuesday, 13 April 2010 10:15

By myfinances.co.uk staff

The run-up to the end of the 2009-10 financial year fuelled a rise in saving rates across Britain, with over half of all adults regularly putting money aside during March, Nationwide has said.

According to the lender's latest Savings Index, 51 per cent of people were consistently making contributions to an ISA or other deposits during the month, up from 48 per cent from February.

Overall, the index rose by three points to 94 in March. This followed a six-point rise the previous month and is the highest score recorded since November 2008.

The percentage of people who think the government actively encourages saving edged higher from 18 per cent to 19 per cent. Nationwide said that this score could increase further next month once the decision to raise the annual tax-free ISA allowance from £7,200 to £10,200 has filtered through to the market.

Commenting on the figures, the company's head of savings Andy Hutchinson said: "Now that the new tax year has started, some savers' attention will be switched on to saving as early as possible in an ISA to maximise their tax benefit."

Despite the increase in regular savings during March, Nationwide noted that 21 per cent of adults are still not putting anything aside for a rainy day.

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