Wrappers
The allowance is not the milestone. The milestone is using the wrapper you already have access to, before you invent a more complicated one. Figures below are the rules as published before the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026.
| Rule | 2026/27 | Already announced next |
|---|---|---|
| ISA allowance, all types combined | £20,000 | £20,000, with a freeze announced through to 5 April 2031 |
| Cash ISA, under 65 | Up to the full £20,000 | £12,000 from 6 April 2027. The rest of the allowance can still go to a stocks and shares ISA |
| Cash ISA, 65 and over | Up to £20,000 | Stays at £20,000 from 6 April 2027, in the year you turn 65 as well |
| Lifetime ISA | £4,000 plus a 25 percent bonus. Counts toward the £20,000 | A replacement has been discussed. No start date is settled on this page. Check before you open one |
| Junior ISA | £9,000 | No change announced |
| Pension annual allowance | £60,000, or 100 percent of relevant UK earnings if that is lower | No change announced. Taper can cut this to £10,000 |
| Money purchase annual allowance | £10,000, once you have flexibly accessed a defined contribution pension | No change announced. Triggering it is hard to undo |
| Tax-free lump sum | Usually up to 25 percent, capped by the lump sum allowance of £268,275 across pensions | No change announced |
| Earliest private pension access | 55 | 57 from 6 April 2028 |
| Full new State Pension | £241.30 a week, £12,547.60 a year, with 35 qualifying years | Age 66, rising to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028 |
| Personal savings allowance | £1,000 basic rate, £500 higher rate, £0 additional rate | Interest above that is taxed. Cash outside an ISA is not invisible |
From 6 April 2027 the government has also legislated a flat charge on interest paid on cash held inside non-cash ISAs, and limits on moving stocks and shares ISA money into a cash ISA. Read the instrument, not a summary, if that describes your account. From 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds are due to fall inside the estate for inheritance tax. That is a reason to understand your beneficiary forms, not a reason to empty a pension in a panic.
Contribute at least enough to receive the full employer pension contribution. That money is part of your pay. Getting it into the pension is the highest-certainty "return" most employees will ever be offered, and it is not an investment tip. It is reading the scheme rules.
A stocks and shares ISA is a tax wrapper, not an investment. What sits inside it — a global fund, a short list of funds, a pile of cash — is a different decision. For money you will not need for a decade, leaving the whole allowance in cash is a choice with a cost, especially once the under-65 cash limit falls in April 2027. For an emergency fund, cash is the point.
Further pension contributions can be powerful because of tax relief, and awkward because you cannot touch them until 55, or 57 from April 2028. A household that might need the money for a house move or a career break should not pretend the pension is an ISA. The money purchase annual allowance of £10,000 waits for anyone who flexibly accesses a pot. Do not "just take a little out to see" without knowing that.
You can put in up to £4,000 a tax year and receive a 25 percent bonus. It counts toward the £20,000 ISA allowance. It is for a first home or for later life, and taking the money for anything else currently triggers a withdrawal charge that can cost you more than the bonus. There is a property price cap and a list of eligibility rules. If your Cornish first home might cross that cap, the bonus is not yours. Check the current cap on gov.uk the week you are ready to offer, not the week you read a blog.
Salary sacrifice into a pension can be efficient today. From 6 April 2029, National Insurance is due to apply to salary-sacrifice pension contributions above £2,000 a year, on the legislation already passed. A plan that only works on today's National Insurance treatment needs a second look before that date.
None of this is a personal recommendation. If you want someone to tell you which fund to buy, that person needs to be authorised. We are a journal. Write to [email protected] if a figure on this page has gone stale and we will correct the sentence.