Your ISA questions.

• ISA stands for Individual Savings Account.
• An ISA is a ‘wrapper’ designed to go around an investment, to make it more tax-efficient.
• There are two types of ISA investment:
  • Cash ISA: this is like a normal deposit account - except that you pay no tax on the interest you earn.
  • Stocks and shares ISA: this gives you the chance to invest your money in equities, bonds or commercial property without paying personal tax on any returns you might make.
• ISAs were introduced by the Government to encourage more people to save.
• By investing in an ISA, you’re protecting your money from the taxman. You’re able to keep all the returns from your investment because you won’t pay income or capital gains tax on them.
• You don't need to declare your ISA on your tax return.
• The current tax situation may not be maintained and the value of the tax benefit depends on individual circumstances.

• Save up to £5,640 in a cash ISA and invest the remaining £5,640 in a stocks and shares ISA.
• Or invest your full ISA allowance of £11,280 in a stocks and shares ISA. Remember that once you’ve invested the maximum amount allowed in any tax year, you can’t invest any more.
• Minimum investment -  £500 lump sum or £50 monthly.
• You’re also unable to replace any money you’ve withdrawn from your stocks and shares ISA during that tax year.
• The value of your investment may fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest.

• You can make more of your money tax-efficient by investing in a stocks and shares ISA.
• The maximum you can save tax-efficiently in a cash ISA is £5,640. If you invest in a stocks and shares ISA you could double the amount you can invest tax-efficiently.
• You'll be able to invest in one or more of a range of assets like: 
  • Cash - The least risky of the four asset classes but the risk is often accompanied by modest returns on investment.
  • Shares/Equities - Shares issued by a company normally listed on a stock exchange. Individuals who buy shares hold a share in that company and are entitled to dividend payments and voting rights.
  • Corporate bonds or fixed interest investments - Are loans to companies. They usually pay an agreed level of interest each year and aim to pay back the capital at the end of a stated period. There are different types of bonds determined by a credit rating system. A 'risky' or 'sub-investment grade' bond has a lower rating than an investment grade bond. The lower the rating, the riskier the bond.
  • Property - Invests in commercial property such as shops, office blocks, retail parks and warehouses.

You’ll need to be:

• Aged 18 or over.
• Resident, and ordinarily resident, in the UK for tax purposes. If you're not sure what this means please contact HM Revenue & Customs.

You’re not able to hold a stocks and shares ISA jointly.

• You can only invest in one stocks and shares ISA in any tax year.
• You can have your cash ISA with a different provider.
• If you’re using two different providers you need to make sure your contributions don't exceed the annual limits.
• You can hold onto ISAs from previous tax years - so you may end up with several ISAs with several different ISA providers.

Yes, you can invest your allowance into a range of funds, with the same provider. You will need to allocate the percentage you would like to invest in each fund.

• There’s no time limit and you’ll qualify for the tax advantages immediately.
• Our investment funds are designed as medium to long term investments - ideally five years or more.
• If you do choose to withdraw your investment with us you won’t have to pay a fee.

• You can transfer a stocks and shares ISA to us.
• You can transfer your cash ISA to a stocks and shares ISA, but not the other way round.
• You can transfer cash or stocks and shares ISAs from previous tax years in full or in part that you did not buy from us.
• If you’d like to transfer this current tax year’s cash or stocks and shares ISA to us you’ll have to transfer the full amount you’ve invested in your ISA.
• Your money will still be kept in an ISA and transferring won’t affect this tax year’s ISA allowance – so you won’t lose out on your tax benefits if you decide to switch to us.
• We won't charge you for transferring your ISA to us, but your current provider may.
• If you transfer your ISA to us you may pay an initial charge on your investment.

• You can withdraw amounts of £500 or more from your investment at any time, providing you leave £500 in the ISA.
• Alternatively, you can withdraw all your money.

You can make a withdrawal or fully cash in your investment, contact us by either of the following:

By phone:

0370 050 0955
8.30am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

We may record and monitor calls. 

Call charges will vary.

By post:

Legal & General Investments 
PO Box 6080
Wolverhampton
WV1 9RB

If you’ve registered with our online account management service My Account you can withdraw your money online. If you place a deal by telephone, it must be confirmed in writing before any payment will be made.

Payment will then take place either:

• Within four business days, after the valuation point. In some cases we may have to delay payment to you so we can check the instruction received and the verification of your signature. 

or

• After we receive written instructions and any other documents that we may need from you.

Your investment doesn’t automatically close.

• Your ISA Account automatically closes, but the money remains invested in the underlying unit trust
• Your personal representative(s) can:

    1) request a full withdrawal and payment to be made to the named beneficiary(ies); or

    2) request a transfer of the holding to the named beneficiary(ies) and continue the investment.

In the event of death, the following three steps will need to be completed:

Notification

You can contact us in a variety of ways:

By phone:

0370 050 0955
8.30am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

We may record and monitor calls. 

Call charges will vary.

By post:

Legal & General Investments 
PO Box 6080
Wolverhampton
WV1 9RB

Documentation

In all cases we will need sight of the Original Death Certificate or Coroner’s Report. We will return the document(s) to you by Recorded Delivery once received.

Estate Value

The documentation we require for the final step will depend on the value of the Estate. We will contact you with further requirements by post.