HALIFAX, England, March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Just 15% of 2012/13 ISA customers have used full allowance

The average cash ISA balance across England and Wales is £8,844, according to Halifax; equivalent to a third (33%) of national average pre-tax annual earnings^[1] of £27,039.

There are significant differences in average ISA balances depending on age, location and gender. Savers aged 25 to 34 have an average balance of £2,712, which is less than half of the current annual Cash ISA allowance of £5,640. The average balance increases to £4,389 for those aged between 35 and 44 and again to £7,330 for customers between 45 and 54 years of age; all well below the national average.

Unsurprisingly, older savers have higher balances. Those in the 55 to 64 age band have an average balance of £11,809, which is a third above the national average;  rising to £15,035 for savers over the age of 75 (See Table 1).

Indeed, industry^[2] figures show that the proportion of savers with ISAs valued at £15,000 or more is highest among the 65 plus age group.

Richard Fearon, Head of Halifax Savings, comments:

"Our research shows that age is a significant factor in determining the size of an ISA holding. Older savers, not surprisingly, have the highest ISA balances as they have had longer to accumulate savings whereas savers between 25 and 54 have an ISA balance considerably lower than the national average.

"Savers aged between 25 and 54 make up over 70% of all taxpayers and, therefore have the greatest chance to benefit from using their full ISA allowance. Just 15% of savers that have funded their ISA with us this year have reached the maximum limit, so the potential for further tax free saving over the next month is huge."

ISA balances vary sharply between areas

Regionally, the highest average balance is held by savers in East Anglia (£9,512) and the lowest is in the North East (£8,220); a difference of 16%. (See Table 2)

Whilst the average ISA balance of £8,844 is equivalent to a third of gross annual earnings, this proportion is highest in Wales (39%) and lowest in London (24%).

At a local area district (LAD) level, the differences are much greater. ISA customers in South Buckinghamshire have the highest average balance, which at £11,532 is 124% higher than in Hackney - which has the lowest (£5,137).

South Buckinghamshire is followed by Derbyshire Dales (£11,461), Chiltern (£11,454) and Christchurch (£11,317). These are all areas characterised by an aging population.  (See Table 3)

Sixteen of the 20 LADs with the highest average balances are in southern England; the four from the north are Fylde in Lancashire (£11,078), Staffordshire Moorlands in the West Midlands (£10,898) and Hambleton in North Yorkshire (£10,891), as well as Derbyshire Dales.

At the other end of the range, seven of the ten lowest ISA savings areas are in London. Besides Hackney, the other areas with the lowest balances are Newham (£6,043), Southwark (£5,643) and Lewisham (£5,909). These are all areas with a younger than average population. (See Table 4)

Women save a greater percentage of earnings tax free

As a proportion of average earnings, female savers have an average ISA balance that is equivalent to 43% of their gross annual average earnings - 17 percentage points more than male ISA savers (26%).

In Yorkshire and the Humber, South West, East Midlands and Wales the average ISA balance for women is equivalent to almost half of female average gross annual earnings.

Savings by men are highest in proportion to earnings in Wales (33%). The lowest levels of savings relative to earnings are in London for both men (19%) and women (31%).

Men have an average ISA balance of £8,973, just 2% higher than those held by women (£8,816).  Men have higher balances across all regions of England and Wales with the exception of London. The gender differences, however, are small with the largest in the North East, at 4% (£8,455 v £8,057). (See Table 2)

Table 1: Average Balance by Age (over 25's) - January 2013

              25-34    35-44    45-54     55-64     65-74      75+    All age
                                                                       groups
    England
    and
    Wales    GBP2,712 GBP4,389 GBP7,330 GBP11,809 GBP13,900 GBP15,035 GBP8,844

Source: Halifax; ^[*] all outstanding balances at end of January 2013

Table 2: Average ISA Balance by Region, January 2013

                                                           Female
                                                          Average
        Region                 All Customers               Balance          Male Average
                           Average Balance (GBP) *        (GBP) *         Balance (GBP) *

    North East                    GBP8,220                GBP8,057           GBP8,455
    North West                    GBP8,770                GBP8,680           GBP8,932
    Yorkshire & Humberside        GBP8,737                GBP8,646           GBP8,886
    West Midlands                 GBP8,858                GBP8,706           GBP9,098
    East Midlands                 GBP9,291                GBP9,223           GBP9,464
    East Anglia                   GBP9,512                GBP9,475           GBP9,670
    London                        GBP8,643                GBP8,889           GBP8,622
    South East                    GBP9,313                GBP9,336           GBP9,389
    South West                    GBP8,653                GBP8,615           GBP8,767
    Wales                         GBP8,819                GBP8,728           GBP8,989
    England and Wales             GBP8,844                GBP8,816           GBP8,973

Source: Halifax; ^[*] all outstanding balances at end of January 2013

Table 3: 20 Local Authority Districts with the Largest ISA Balances

        Local Authority
           District                  Region          All Customers Average Balance (GBP) *

    South Buckinghamshire   South East                             GBP11,532
    Derbyshire Dales        East Midlands                          GBP11,461
    Chiltern                South East                             GBP11,454
    Christchurch            South West                             GBP11,317
    Harrow                  London                                 GBP11,283
    Brentwood               East Anglia                            GBP11,244
    East Dorset             South West                             GBP11,080
    Fylde                   North West                             GBP11,078
    Mole Valley             South East                             GBP11,001
    Vale of White Horse     South East                             GBP10,947
    St Albans               East Anglia                            GBP10,942
    Epsom and Ewell         South East                             GBP10,911
    Staffordshire Moorlands West Midlands                          GBP10,898
    Hambleton               Yorkshire and the Humber               GBP10,891
    Windsor and Maidenhead  South East                             GBP10,862
    Wokingham               South East                             GBP10,815
    Rochford                East Anglia                            GBP10,804
    Harborough              East Midlands                          GBP10,699
    Epping Forest           East Anglia                            GBP10,687
    Elmbridge               South East                             GBP10,652
    England and Wales                                              GBP8,844

Source: Halifax; ^[*] all outstanding balances at the end of January 2013

Table 4: Local Authority Districts with the Lowest Average ISA Balances, January 2013

      Local Authority
          District                Region          All Customers Average Balance (GBP) *

    Hackney              London                                 GBP5,137
    Newham               London                                 GBP5,438
    Southwark            London                                 GBP5,643
    Lewisham             London                                 GBP5,909
    Barking and Dagenham London                                 GBP6,043
    Manchester           North West                             GBP6,152
    Lambeth              London                                 GBP6,196
    Tower Hamlets        London                                 GBP6,556
    Corby                East Midlands                          GBP6,577
    Kingston upon Hull   Yorkshire and the Humber               GBP6,624
    England and Wales                                           GBP8,844

Source: Halifax; ^[*] month end all outstanding balances for January 2013

Editors' Notes:

Note:^[1] average annual gross earnings for all employees (ONS) for England and Wales 2012.

^[2] HMRC Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) Statistics September 2012. These statistics include both ISA cash and ISA stocks and shares - however 80% of ISA accounts subscribed by adults in 2011/12 were for cash ISAs. The Halifax figures in this release are for Cash ISAs only.

^[3] All average balance data in this release are per customer.

Methodology

Data in this release is from the Halifax savings database for all outstanding stock of savings balances held by customers for all product types at the end of January 2013.

National averages in this release are for England and Wales only and are in not comparable to those stated in previous releases which included data for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

No adjustment is made to the calculation for area average balance where the gender is not known. Therefore, the overall savings balance may differ from the averages implied by the male and female averages.

The figures in this report, by their very nature, exclude people who have no savings. Figures from the ONS's Financial Resources Survey 2010/11 show that 40% of households have no savings (Table 4.9 - Households by amount of savings and investments).

"This report is prepared from information that we believe is collated with care, however, it is only intended to highlight issues and it is not intended to be comprehensive. We reserve the right to vary our methodology and to edit or discontinue/withdraw this, or any other report.  Any use of this report for an individual's own or third party commercial purposes is done entirely at the risk of the person making such use and solely the responsibility of the person or persons making such reliance. "© Bank of Scotland plc all rights reserved

Customer Relations
Halifax P O Box 548 Leeds LS1 1WU
T. 08457394959
E. customerrelations@halifax.co.uk
Website: www.halifax.co.uk

SOURCE Halifax