Budget countdown puts ISAs back in the spotlight

New research points to a brewing financial crisis: many Britons lack even basic savings, and the small pots they’ve scraped together could be wiped out at a moment’s notice; whilst tax decisions in the upcoming November Budget loom over the working public.

Living from pay check to pay check with nothing to back it up is a worrying trend now and the stats show only 35% feel in control and confident about their savings. An additional 28% say they feel worried, 26% anxious, and 24% frustrated when they don’t have savings or can’t add to them as the cost-of-living crisis and the constant spectre of economic uncertainty is impacting confidence and causing stress for those looking to keep their pounds safe.

The stats from Raisin UK’s Great British Savings Report 2025 also show more than half of UK adults (53%) did not move any funds from regular savings into a tax‑free ISA in the past 12 months leaving billions potentially exposed to savings tax as Budget decisions loom. But what is perhaps more striking is that among those who did act, the most common transfer was relatively small: between £1,000 and £4,999.

Ros spoke to Kevin Mountford, finance expert at Raisin.

Photo by Colin Watts on Unsplash