ISAs are a tax-free savings product available to all adults.

The two reports -'Individual Attitudes to Saving: Effect of ISAs on People’s Saving Behaviour Research into Attitudes and Motivations for Saving in ISAs'; and 'Saving in ISA', suggested that the tax incentives offered through ISAs to encourage people to save have been successful, with one third of people now holding an ISA account.

The reports found that of the ISA holders questioned, one in three had been encouraged to save by the existence of tax-free ISAs, and around one quarter cited these tax incentives as the principle reason for saving.

40% of those polled had saved GBP8,000 or more in their ISA account.

Kitty Ussher observed that:

“This research helps to confirm the success of ISAs in encouraging people to save, enabling them to build up a financial asset. “Next year we will be introducing reforms to build on that success. We will make ISAs simpler to use, more flexible, and more generous with a higher investment limit. We hope that these changes encourage even more people to use ISAs to save.”