ifs ProShare calls on Chancellor to lift SAYE savings limit

ifs ProShare, a member led organisation that acts as the voice of the employee share ownership industry, has today written to Chancellor Alistair Darling urging him to increase the maximum amount employees can save in a Save-As-You-Earn employee share plan.

At present, the maximum amount of money an employee can save in one of these plans is £250 a month. In their correspondence to the Chancellor, ifs ProShare highlight the fact that this limit has been in place since 1991 and if it had been raised in line with inflation since then it would now stand at over £400.

There are currently 2.3 million employees saving in a SAYE share plan and a recent ifs ProShare survey suggests that approximately 20% of these workers are investing the maximum permitted £250 a month.

Phil Hall, Head of Public Affairs at ifs ProShare said,

"The Government has rightly talked of the importance of encouraging people to save more, particularly in the current economic climate. By increasing the amount of money employees can save in a SAYE plan, the Government can provide a tangible example of action taken to match such rhetoric.

We very much hope that policymakers will recognise that continued failure to increase the £250 limit to at least £400 means that the amount of money employees can save is being eroded on annual basis. It's been more than 17 years since the limit was last increased, so clearly a change is overdue."

For more information please go to: ifsproshare.org