'Save cash ISAs and keep £20,000 limit' urge building societies and others in open letter to the Chancellor
More than 50 building societies and other financial firms have signed an open letter urging the Chancellor Rachel Reeves to save cash ISAs by keeping their £20,000 tax-free limit. The move comes amid reports Ms Reeves will announce a cut to the cash limit in her Mansion House speech on Tuesday 15 July.
The Treasury hasn't confirmed the cut, but said it's looking at options to encourage consumers to invest more.
Reacting to the reports earlier this month, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis said it would be "a mistake" and raised doubts over whether it would actually encourage investment.
Building societies and other firms pen open letter to the Chancellor on cutting the cash ISA limit
Here's a copy of the letter in full:
9 July 2025
Dear Chancellor,
We are writing to express our concern regarding recent speculation about cuts to Cash ISA subscription limits.
Cash ISAs are a cornerstone of personal savings for millions across the UK, helping people from all walks of life to build financial resilience and achieve their savings goals.
Beyond their personal benefits, Cash ISAs play a vital role in the broader economy. The funds deposited in these accounts support lending, helping to keep mortgages and loans affordable and accessible. Any significant reductions to the Cash ISA limits would make this funding more scarce which could have the knock-on effect of making loans to households and businesses more expensive and harder to come by. This would undermine efforts to stimulate economic growth, including the Government's commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes.
Cutting the Cash ISA limit would send a discouraging message to savers, who are sensibly trying to plan for the future and undermine a product that has stood the test of time. It would make the whole ISA regime more complex and make it harder for people to transfer money between cash and investments.
Restricting Cash ISAs won't encourage people to invest, as it won't suddenly change their appetite to take on risk.
We know that barriers to investing are primarily behavioural, therefore building confidence and awareness are far more important. There are opportunities to capitalise on the transformational changes to the advice-guidance boundary and to look again at risk warnings so that they encourage and reassure rather than scare people off investing. And we know that Cash ISAs themselves also act as a gateway to Stocks & Shares ISAs.
We also call for a long-term consumer awareness and information campaign to educate people about the benefits of investing, alongside maintaining strong support for saving.
We therefore urge you to affirm your support for Cash ISAs by maintaining the current £20,000 limit. Preserving this threshold will enable households to continue building financial security while supporting broader economic stability and growth.
Signed:
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Matt Bland, Chief Executive, Association of British Credit Unions Limited
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Andrew Whyte, Chief Executive, Association of Financial Mutuals
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Richard Ingle, Chief Executive, Bath Building Society
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Janet Bedford, Chief Executive, Beverley Building Society
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Dan Wass, Chief Executive, Buckinghamshire Building Society
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Robin Fieth, Chief Executive, Building Societies Association
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Peter Burrows, Chief Executive, Cambridge Building Society
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Samantha Homer, Chief Executive, Capital Credit Union
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Stephen Penlington, Chief Executive, Chorley Building Society
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Steve Hughes, Group Chief Executive, Coventry Building Society
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Des Moore, Chief Executive, The Cumberland Building Society
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Andrew Craddock, Chief Executive, Darlington Building Society
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Scott Devereux, Chief Executive, Earl Shilton Building Society
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Gareth Griffiths, Chief Executive, Ecology Building Society
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Mark Bogard, Chief Executive, Family Building Society
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Simon Broadley, Chief Executive, Furness Building Society
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David Ross, Chief Executive, Glasgow Credit Union
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Mark Selby, Chief Executive, Hanley Economic Building Society
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Lucy Thomas, Corporate Affairs Director, Hargreaves Lansdown
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Tracie Pearce, Chief Executive, Harpenden Building Society
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Annette Barnes, Interim Chief Executive, Leeds Building Society
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Andy Deeks, Chief Executive, Leek Building Society
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Gary Brebner, Chief Executive, Loughborough Building Society
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Paul Wheeler, Chief Executive, Mansfield Building Society
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Iain Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive, Market Harborough Building Society
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Rob Pheasey, Chief Executive, Marsden Building Society
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Simon Taylor, Chief Executive, Melton Building Society
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Cecila Mourain, Chief Homebuying and Savings Officer, Moneybox
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John Woods, Executive Chairman, Moneyfacts Group plc
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Will Carroll, Chief Executive, Monmouthshire Building Society
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Dame Debbie Crosbie DBE, Group Chief Executive, Nationwide
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Phillippa Cardno, Chief Executive, Newbury Building Society
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Andrew Haig, Chief Executive, Newcastle Building Society
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Sue Hayes, Chief Executive, Nottingham Building Society
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Zack Hocking, Penrith Building Society
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Mike Ellicock, Chief Executive, Plain Numbers
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Julie-Ann Haines, Principality Building Society
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Michael Boyd, Chief Executive, Progressive Building Society
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Colin Field, Chief Executive, Saffron Building Society
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Paul Denton, Chief Executive, Scottish Building Society
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Stuart Haire, Group Chief Executive, Skipton Group
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Richard Norrington, Chief Executive, Suffolk Building Society
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Alun Williams, Chief Executive, Swansea Building Society
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Joanna Causon, Chief Executive, Institute of Customer Service
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Carol Knight, Chief Executive, The Investing and Saving Alliance
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Stephen Jones, Chief Executive, The Stafford Building Society
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Gavin Opperman, Chief Executive, Teachers Building Society
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Adam Evetts, Chief Executive, Tipton and Coseley Building Society
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Darren Ditchburn, Chief Executive, Vernon Building Society
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Jonathan Westhoff, Chief Executive, West Brom Building Society
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Susan Allen OBE, Chief Executive, Yorkshire Building Society
A full list of the 51 building societies and financial firms that have signed the letter
What does the Treasury say?
A Treasury spokesperson said: "Our ambition remains to ensure people's hard-earned savings are delivering the best returns and driving more investment into the UK economy."
The Treasury added that it is keeping all aspects of savings policy under review, and that it plans to publish strategies for fostering growth in the financial sector in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will be published on Tuesday 15 July.
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