Got a question about our Investment ISA?
You’ll probably find the answer here. If not, we’ll be happy to help.
Q. Who can invest in a National Friendly Investment ISA?
A. Anyone aged 18 or over who is a UK resident for at least 6 months of the tax year or ordinarily resident, plus Crown employees serving overseas and their spouse/civil partner.
Q. What’s the most I can invest in a National Friendly Investment ISA?
A. You can invest up to £10,200 per tax year, minus any amount you’ve put into a Cash ISA.
Q. What’s the minimum investment?
A. Invest an initial lump sum of £1,000 or save monthly by direct debit from just £50 a month.
Q. I didn’t use last year’s ISA allowance. Can I invest more this year?
A. No. Your ISA allowance relates to each tax year only and can’t be carried over.
Q. How is my money invested?
A. We add your money to our with-profits fund. This invests in assets such as commercial property, company shares (equities), fixed interest securities such as company and UK government bonds (gilts), as well as cash. We take charges from your investment to cover the cost of investing in these assets.
Q. Can I withdraw any money from my investment ISA?
A. Yes. You may withdraw £500 or more at any time, as long as at least £1,000 remains in your ISA. There are no charges for a withdrawal. Remember that you can only pay in up to the limits shown. So if you’ve paid in your full allowance and you then withdraw money, you can’t pay it back into your ISA until the new tax year. It’s then part of your new tax year’s allowance.
Q. Do I have to invest in this ISA for a set term?
A. No, you can cash it in at any time. But to give it the opportunity for growth (although growth is never guaranteed) and allowing for the deduction of charges you should plan to hold the ISA for the medium to long term. By this we mean at least five years and, ideally, more than 10. This is due to the nature of the with-profits fund to which we add your money. This means that to give your investment a reasonable prospect of growing you need to take a long-term view, but with the peace of mind that you can access it in an emergency if your situation changes.The fund invests in assets such as commercial property, equities and fixed interest securities.
Q. What tax do I pay with this investment?
A. You won’t pay any income tax or capital gains tax on your investment. National Friendly pays 10% income tax on your behalf on dividends from shares held in the fund but you can’t reclaim this.
Q. How do I know how my investment is doing?
A. You receive an annual statement to track the performance of your investment. You can also call us at any time and we’ll tell you the current details.
Q. Could I get back less than I invested?
A. If you withdraw your money during or following prolonged periods of poor market conditions the Investment Performance Adjustment (IPA) may result in you getting back less than you invested.
Q. What charges are made on my investment?
A. A policy charge of 5% is deducted from each investment. This means each lump sum, each direct debit payment and each transfer in. • An administrative charge of £1 is deducted from each monthly payment. • An annual fund charge of 1.5% is deducted from your ISA through monthly instalments on the 5th of each month.