TISA calls for CTF changes in Pre Budget Submission

October 4, 2007

TISA is calling for key enhancements to the Child Trust Fund alongside wider actions to further incentivise savings as part of its Pre Budget Submission delivered to the Treasury this week.

TISA is calling for:

• A joint government/industry strategic communications plan for the Child Trust Fund to ensure that everyone can maximise this opportunity for all children

• Confirmation of an additional contribution for CTF at secondary school age

•Modifications of technical aspects of the CTF regime allowing registration without the requirement for a physical voucher

•No major ISA rule changes in tax year 2008/9 to allow 2006 Review changes to ‘bed in’

•A clear, transparent and systematic formula for up-rating yearly subscription limits for ISAs, CTFs, and other tax-incentivised savings schemes

•Change the rules to allow the maintenance of tax-advantaged status when moving funds between or from one scheme or product to another.

•Direct linkage of Savings Gateway to ISAs

•Implement group pensions auto-enrolment prior to 2012. TISA believes the message to the public should be to ‘Save now for your future’

•The creation of a ‘Savings for Life’ Account to allow people to manage their savings in a tax advantaged environment throughout their lifetime

•Development of a consumer-friendly website and information line for all Government savings schemes modelled on the Child Trust Fund information services, allowing savers to gain a broad range of information from a single, non-biased source.

Tony Vine-Lott, TISA Director General, said:

‘TISA has been at the forefront of the development of CTF policy and we have looked to our 2007 PBR submission to call for more changes to make the scheme even more successfully. We are also keen to see further ISA policy changes to allow for a systematic uprating of ISA allowances and hope the Government will use the Savings Gateway as a route into tax incentivised savings.’

For more information:

Tony Vine-Lott, TISA Director-General
07790 006108

Iain Anderson or Jacob Coy, Cicero Consulting
020 7665 9530
07785 507045
079 0039 2531