Guide to Aegon Platform ISA

You must be:

• Aged 18 or over
• Resident in the UK for tax purposes
• A Crown servant (e.g. diplomatic or overseas civil service) or their spouse or registered civil partner if you don’t live in the UK

No, ISAs can only be held in a single name.

You have no personal liability to capital gains tax on any growth, or income tax on any income you receive. You don’t have to declare ISA income or growth on your tax return.

The tax treatment of ISAs may be subject to change in future. The tax benefits depend on your individual circumstances.

There are limits to the amount of money you can pay into an ISA every year, set by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The current ISA limit is £20,000.

You can invest the whole allowance in one type of ISA, or if you prefer you can split your ISA allowance between a cash, stocks and shares, innovative finance, and lifetime ISA. For example, you could have £17,000 in a stocks and shares ISA and £3,000 in a cash ISA. You could transfer that £3,000 into a stocks and shares ISA and have £20,000 in a stocks and shares ISA.

You can top up your ISA with any minimums set out in the key features document, just make sure your total payments into your ISA (or ISAs) don’t exceed the limits for that tax year.

You can also transfer between products by moving funds from your General Investment Account (GIA) to an existing ISA or to a new ISA with ourselves. This offers the option to maximise your ISA allowance if you haven't already reached your limit.

The cash facility lets you hold cash in your stocks and shares ISA. This money can be used to invest into funds, to pay charges or you can withdraw it.

You may be able to re-direct your ongoing charges from your ISA and pay these through your GIA cash facility (which we automatically set up for you when you buy an ISA from us) rather than through your ISA. Please speak to your adviser to check if this option is available to you. See our guide Paying your charges through your GIA.

Any money in the cash facility accrues interest which we pay on a monthly basis. We pay interest at a gross rate based on the Bank of England base rate. You can find the current rate we pay here.

You can add money to the cash facility in three ways:

• By signing into your investment summary and following the top-up journey. This lets you pay into your cash facility by debit card, bank transfer or cheque.
• By direct debit – you need to complete an Instruction to your bank or building society to pay by Direct Debit.
• For investments that generate income – you can choose to leave any income you get in your cash account.

Transferring existing ISAs to us lets you have all ISA investments in one account with one consolidated statement. It may help make tracking your investment performance and making any changes to your portfolio easier. See our guide to transferring for more information.

You can transfer existing stocks and shares ISAs and cash ISAs held with other providers to us. We won't charge you for ISA transfers, but your current provider may have an exit charge.

You can transfer ISAs from previous tax years in full or in part and it won't affect this year's ISA allowance. If you're transferring an ISA that holds current tax year subscriptions, you must transfer that amount in full.

Please note, if you transfer a cash or lifetime ISA to us, we’ll convert it to a stocks and shares ISA you'll lose your lifetime ISA status along with any other benefits specific to that ISA. If you transfer your Lifetime ISA to a stocks and shares ISA, you'll be subject to the 25% withdrawal charge.

You can’t currently transfer over an existing ISA if you don’t have an adviser. If you do have an adviser, you should organise a transfer through them.

Transferring or consolidating ISAs may not be the best option for you. It's up to you to decide if this is the right decision for you - so make sure you compare products before transferring or consolidating. If you're not sure, speak to a financial adviser - there may be a charge for this.

It's important to remember the value of your consolidated stocks and shares ISA can still fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. So although our stocks and shares ISA has no fixed term, you should be prepared to remain invested for at least five years - ideally longer.

Any new funds you move your money into will have their own set of risks that will be detailed in the fund information available to you.

If you’re transferring from a cash ISA to our stocks and shares ISA, you’re actually transferring between two very different products. In a cash ISA your money is held on deposit, but in a stocks and shares ISA the value can fall as well as rise.

You can transfer from us to other ISA providers. Assets held within an ISA can be re-registered within the ISA, preserving your market holdings and the tax benefits of the ISA. You can re-register commission-free share class funds off the platform if the new provider offers the same share class. Please check carefully with the platform/fund manager you’re intending to move to as to the availability of your funds at their end.