Tax-efficient Savings (ISAs)

What you need to know about ISAs                    

This webpage tells you everything you need to know about our cash ISAs and is designed to answer any questions you may have.

The Financial Services Authority is the independent financial services regulator. It requires us, The Cambridge Building Society, to give you this important information to help you decide whether one of our cash ISAs is right for you. You should read this page carefully so that you understand what you are buying.

What is an ISA?

The Government’s tax-efficient savings scheme the Individual Savings Account or ISA offers a range of savings options in cash savings and equities (stocks and shares).

Your ISA options

There are two types of ISA: 'cash' ISAs and 'stocks and shares' ISAs.
Each tax year you can take out one cash and/or one stocks and shares ISA.

Subscription limits and tax

Under the current Government rules you can invest up to £10,680 in the 2011/2012 tax year in the ISA scheme. The tax year starts on 6th April.

As well as the overall limit you can hold in the ISA scheme, there are restrictions on how much you can pay into each type of ISA in each tax year.

Your cash ISA allowance can be saved in a cash ISA with one ISA provider. The remainder of your annual subscription can be invested in a stocks and shares ISA with either the same or another ISA provider.

Important restrictions

By opening a cash ISA, you will be limiting the amount of investment in stocks and shares that you may make through ISAs.

You can transfer some or all of the money saved in previous tax years from cash ISAs to stocks and shares ISAs without affecting your annual ISA investment allowance. You can also transfer all of the money saved in the current tax year from cash ISAs to stocks and shares ISAs. You cannot, however, transfer money invested in stocks and shares ISAs to cash ISAs.

For more information about ISAs, visit the HM Revenue & Customs website.

Who can open an ISA?

Currently anyone who is aged 18 or over, and who is a UK resident for tax purposes, can subscribe to the ISA scheme. For cash ISAs (such as our Instant Access ISA and Members’ Notice ISA) the minimum age for savers is 16.

Stakeholder

The Government’s Stakeholder status for ISAs provides a benchmark designed to identify straightforward savings products which are simple, clear and fair. Stakeholder status does not guarantee the best performance nor is it necessarily suitable for every saver.

14 days to change your mind

If in the first 14 days of opening your Cash ISA account, you decide that the account you’ve chosen is not right for you, you can have your money back – without penalty. We’ll arrange to close the account and return your money or to switch your funds to another of our savings accounts. We’ll pay you interest up to the day before closure at the appropriate ISA rate on the balance of your account, less income tax. Your account will not be classed as an ISA.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Important information about compensation arrangements
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation to depositors if a building society is unable to meet its financial obligations. Most depositors – including most individuals and small businesses – are covered by the scheme.

In respect of deposits, an eligible depositor is entitled to claim up to £85,000. For joint accounts each account holder is treated as having a claim in respect of their share so, for a joint account held by two eligible depositors, the maximum amount that could be claimed would be £85,000 each (making a total of £170,000). The £85,000 limit relates to the combined amount in all the eligible depositor’s accounts with the building society, including their share of any joint account, and not to each separate account.

For further information about the Scheme (including amounts covered and eligibility to claim) please see our Financial Services Compensation Scheme webpage or refer to the FSCS website www.fscs.org.uk

Complaints

We’re committed to providing you with a first class customer service. However, there may be occasions when you feel you have cause for complaint. If so, please tell us about it straight away – and we’ll do all we can to put things right.

We’ll investigate your complaint thoroughly and aim to resolve it as quickly and amicably as possible.

Our complaints procedure can be found here.