The number of Individual Savings Account (ISA) products sold in 2020 jumped 79% to a 5-year-high. This is what an analysis of FCA data by Salisbury House Wealth reveals.In 2020, 388,363 ISA products were sold. It compares to 216,933 in 2019.
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Pensions values up 70pc in five years and should be a top priority in any split
4 August 2021 • 6:00am
The number of divorcing couples forced to share their pensions dropped by a third last year to a 10-year low, despite retirement savings ballooning during the pandemic.
More than 10,500 people were ordered to split their pensions with their former spouse in 2020, down from 15,000 in 2019, a freedom of information request submitted to the Ministry of Justice has revealed. This marked a steep and disproportionate fall given the total number of divorces only fell by 3pc, to 104,400.
Pensions should always be included in the financial settlement of any divorce as they are typically a household’s second biggest asset, after property. However, the Courts handed down the fewest pension sharing orders in more than a decade.
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The Bank of England recently kept the base rate at 0.1 percent and as a result, savers are losing out as their cash is growing at a slower rate than inflation, creating negative real returns.
This low base rate has, according to Salisbury House Wealth, suppressed interest rates offered by providers, meaning savers will struggle to find competitive interest rates even when shopping around.
Salisbury House Wealth detailed: “The lowest cash ISA interest rates are offered by instant access accounts at an average of just 0.25 percent, down from 1.08 percent last year.