By Steve Conley, Founder, Academy of Life Planning
The government is preparing to host a roundtable to kick off its long-awaited review of the Individual Savings Account (ISA) system. According to reports from Citywire New Model Adviser, the Treasury has invited a select group of ISA providers and “other stakeholders” to shape the future of one of the UK’s most widely used savings frameworks.
But before we welcome this move as progress, let’s ask the critical question: Who exactly gets a seat at the table?
The last thing savers need is yet another industry echo chamber—where the same financial institutions that profit most from the current complexity are invited to redesign it in their favour. If the Treasury is serious about simplifying ISAs and enhancing consumer outcomes, then consumer advocates, transparency campaigners, and financial justice organisations must be more than just afterthoughts in the consultation process.
Who Speaks for the Public?
The ISA market is vast, diverse, and—let’s not forget—public-facing. Over £700 billion is held in ISA accounts across the UK. Yet historically, policy discussions around savings vehicles have leaned toward the interests of the providers rather than the people using them.
So who will represent the savers? Will there be a balance between commercial interests and those advocating for fairness, simplicity, and financial inclusion? Will ordinary voices be heard—or will they be spoken for?
An Agenda Beyond Simplification
The review comes at a time when the government is also pressing ahead with its Mansion House Compact—encouraging pension schemes to pour more assets into UK private markets. Now ISAs are being lined up for a similar treatment: more capital funnelled into domestic investments under the guise of boosting economic growth.
While this might serve macroeconomic goals, it must not come at the cost of individual saver autonomy or risk-informed choice.
A Landscape of Complexity, Not Clarity
There are currently seven types of ISAs: Cash, Stocks & Shares, Junior, Lifetime, Innovative Finance, Help to Buy, and the Junior Stocks & Shares ISA. Most consumers are understandably confused. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has committed to simplification—but that cannot be delivered if the review is dominated by the same voices that helped complicate the landscape in the first place.
Time to Shift from Provider-Led to People-Led
The ISA review is an opportunity to rebuild trust and empower the public. A redesigned ISA system should be transparent, flexible, and aligned with individual life goals—not product sales targets.
Let’s not miss this chance. The Treasury must ensure the roundtable reflects the diversity and real-world needs of the savers it aims to serve. That means opening the doors to citizen-led planning organisations, financial literacy campaigners, and those with lived experience of the system’s failures—not just those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.
Because if we’re going to fix the ISA system, we need to start by asking: who’s really in the room?
Your Money or Your Life
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By Steve Conley. Available on Amazon. Visit www.steve.conley.co.uk to find out more.
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