Around 80 per cent of all adult ISA subscriptions in 2012-13 were into cash products.

This is despite the Bank of England’s promise to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent “for some time to come” and an inflation rate of 1.6 per cent.

There were 11,682 new cash account openings in 2012-13 up from 11,187 the previous year.

The strongest preference for cash ISAs was among lower-income savers, while higher earners gravitated towards stocks and shares ISAs.

Overall, the total amount saved in ISA products hit a record high in 2012-13.

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ISA holders sheltered around £57bn into their ISAs last year, 8.6 per cent more than the year before, while the number of accounts also grew from 14 million in 2011-12 to 14.6 million.

The average ISA holder had an annual income of between £10,000 and £19,999, with total savings averaging around £15,830.

A steady 35 per cent of ISA savers put away between £4,000 and £5,000 regardless of their income, while 40 per cent saved under £1,999.

Adults aged 65 and over were the most likely to have an ISA account and had the largest ISA savings value – £29,880 at the end of 2011-12.

Unsurprisingly, under 25s were the least likely to subscribe to an ISA, though they were the most active savers.

While the gender split of ISA holders is relatively equal, men are more likely to own higher-value accounts. Men hold 52 per cent of ISAs worth £30,000 or more, while they own just under half of accounts worth up to £2,999.

The proportion of adults holding ISAs is highest in the South West, where just over half have an account, while the average ISA market value is also highest in the South West.

Account values were lowest in the North East, which also had the lowest proportion of ISA holders to the adult population. London ranked a close second to last.

Around 295,000 junior ISA accounts were subscribed to in the product’s first full financial year of existence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: HM Revenue and Customs