Nationwide: government should double cash ISA limit

"The certainty of consistent returns" is certainly not what you get with the bonus payments taken away without reminders from the miserly below inflation rate received after one year.

In a recent citywire article,it had already been suggested that ISA allowance should be raised to 30-40k p.y.This would be a great alternative/addition to build a pension.

Cash ISAs are at present time useless. Even Nationwide offers just 0.25% interest for an instant ISA!. Fixed Term ISAs offer around 1.5%! Who wants to invest in Cash ISAs?

The Gvt has inflicted great damage to honest/hard working savers by offering the Banks cheap Borrowing Funds of £ 65(or is it 85) billion. So Banks dont need Savers money now.

Here's a radical suggestion for the Nationwide - if it wants to help savers, perhaps it should blaze a trail with interest rates that represent rates that comfortabely clear inflation.

Of course, with 'Funding for Lending' (funding for the feckless) in place, savers have no chance.

Doubling up on the money that is subjected to being ravaged by a reduction in spending power would only be an attractive proposition to an idiot.

Spot on, Roger Savage.

Unless cash ISA interest rates are above inflation, the product is a con, and the provider is stealing the tax break.

Another worthless idea except for the banks!

Anyone who can afford £11,280 cash must be a higher rate tax payer, so in the top 10% (?) of workers [but growing thanks to the State] so the benefitting population would be limited. 40% taxpayers would be much better off now to put the money into a SIPP, if they have no alternative pension arrangements, or a stocks and shares ISA which gives tax free growth and income in retirement. Cash ISAs only really offer liquidity and a pittance of an income.

I agree completely Roger.

The rates offered by the Nationwide Building Society are pathetic.

This self righteous, Mutual equivilent of the Liberal Democrat Party, is a hypocritical disgrace.

I make it my business to vote against the chief executive's remuneration package each year.

I would advise you all to do the same.

I no longer utilise cash ISA's. It is a mistake to allow a 'tax concesion' to tie up funds that could be earning much more elsewhere.

To citywire, please stop automatically checking the email box below, it is in danger of resulting in all your emails being regarded as spam.

I will choose if I wish!

Remove any cash that you do not intend to use in the forceable future, say the next 12 months, and place it in a low cost income fund on one of the fund platforms. Fidelity funds, Hargreaves Landsdown etc.

Building societies have been robbing savers for years. Stop subsidising the BTL industry.

Lets see the real cost of borrowing.

Why has it taken so long for people to wake up?

When cash ISA rates fell through the floor in 2009 we switched to defensive equities. Result: capital almost doubled, effective returns on initial investment around 14%. Don't say I didn't tell you. I did.

It looks like the Savers' Strike I predicted is only now starting to come to pass.

While I think this is s good idea, and should be done IN ADDITION to the Stocks and Shares ISA limits, I agree with all the above comments - all this would currently serve would be to give savers marginally less below inflation that they are getting now.

Mortgages are 4-5%, loans are 7-15%, credit cards are 15-25% - so how are savings 2-2.5% at best, and 0.1% at worst?

Someone is making a shit load of money, and it's not savers, and it's not the government in tax.

Nationwide should be leading the way, and while being near the best does not make any of the rates good enough.

That's where to start Mr Marriott, tax savings on top would be a nice to have extra.

Tony