28 October 2025, LONDON –

Finder asked the British public:

‘If the Cash ISA limit was cut, and you had extra savings to use elsewhere, what would you do with the surplus?’

• Save it into a non-ISA savings account – 26%
• Invest it in a Stocks & Shares ISA – 20%
• N/A – there is nothing specific I would do with this – 18%
• Invest it in Premium Bonds – 16%
• Invest it outside of an ISA – 15%
• Spend it – 10%
• N/A – I don’t know what Cash ISAs are – 9%

George Sweeney DipFA, investing expert at the personal finance comparison site, Finder, said:

“It was met with plenty of backlash, but trying to encourage Brits to invest more and get better returns is a commendable end point that I agree with. However, I don’t think that cutting the cash ISA allowance paves the way to this result. Our research shows that only around a third (35%) said they’d invest their money if the cash ISA allowance was reduced. 1 in 10 (10%) said they would spend the money they currently keep in a Cash ISA instead.

“A large reason for this is that plenty of people don’t feel confident enough about the prospect of investing. We found only 1 in 5 Brits (20%) currently invest in the stock market. When asked why this was the case, the main reason was that a quarter (25%) think it’s too risky.

“Unfortunately, tinkering with the ISA allowance isn’t going to lead to the cultural and behavioural change necessary that would lead to more Brits investing. Instead, we need better financial education for adults and the younger generation about the possible long-term benefits of investing.

“The only result I see coming from this change is that it’s going to create another unneeded level of ISA complexity that will be a pain point for both the public and platforms to keep on top of, while having a marginal impact on actually encouraging people to invest more. The potential risks of fiddling with the ISA allowances and rules far outweighs the slim chance this change leads to Reeves’ intended outcome.”