ISAs celebrate tenth birthday

The 6 April 2009 sees not only the start of a new tax year, but also the tenth anniversary of the Individual Savings Account (ISA), the Government's tax-efficient scheme designed to encourage people to save.

As the new tax year approaches ever faster, Nationwide advises all savers to make the most of their annual tax-efficient savings allowance before it is lost forever.

Current economic conditions are both difficult and uncertain, so it has never been more important to save. Savers who have made full use of their cash ISA allowance since 1999 could have saved £39,588.13 by the end of this current tax year and maybe more if they have also taken stocks and shares investment options. However, estimates from Nationwide show that £100 million of unnecessary tax will be paid by savers who have failed to take full advantage of their ISA allowance.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of ISAs, Nationwide relives a number of interesting events from 1999 that people may have forgotten:

ISAs were launched
Savers who have made full use of their cash ISA allowance every year since 1999 could have saved over £2,000 in tax.

Katrina and The Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest
The UK has not won Eurovision since Katrina and The Waves triumphed in Dublin with their song Love Shine a Light.

The highest grossing film of 1999 was Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
To the delight of sci-fi fans across the world, the fourth film of the Star Wars saga was finally released, 16 years after the previous film. It grossed £50,928,328 in UK cinemas alone, despite the introduction of Jar Jar Binks.

Solar eclipse in August 1999
Many people across the country donned their special sunglasses to watch the first solar eclipse in the UK for over 70 years.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France
Lance made an amazing comeback from cancer to win the first of his seven Tours. He retired in 2005, only to announce last year that he's making a comeback in this year's Tour, due to start in July.

Pop princesses start their battle
Today, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have both sold millions of albums worldwide and have even become mothers. Amazingly, 10 years have already passed since they launched their debut albums, propelling them to international stardom.

Andy McQueen, savings and mortgages director at Nationwide, said: "Over the last 10 years, millions of people across the country have benefited from the tax-efficient savings that an ISA offers. Although interest rates are at an historic low, putting money aside on a regular basis is very important. Having access to savings can help consumers manage unforeseen circumstances, not to mention helping them through the current economic downturn. Whether you wish to save regularly or in lump sum amounts, we would like to see all consumers save whatever they can and take advantage of the annual tax-efficient allowance that's given to them."

The current ISA rules allow people to save up to £3,600 in a cash ISA and up to £7,200 in a stocks and shares ISA, within an overall ISA savings limit of £7,200.