S&S ISA new shores vs overpaying mortgage, cash ISA, savings account

resilie

I'm after some advise regarding getting into S&S ISA please and having had a snoop around here I'm getting the feeling it's a good idea but I have no idea where to start.
Some background:
Mortgage 129k 2.49% lifetime tracker - have been overpaying about 1k / month
Cash Isa 9k 1.3% (abysmal I know but need some emergency easy access cash)

So I have been wondering if I should divert some of my mortgage overpayments into a SS ISA instead. I'm quite risk averse and also don't really have the time to manage this myself. Therefore a fund that you could drip-feed monthly would be ideal. A friend has one from Scottish Widows which he is happy with but looking at their website has left me nonethewiser. I don't have a big chunk of money to invest and a lot of advice seems to be geared towards that so your input is very welcome.

atush

What will the money be for, and when will it be needed?

You should invest in a S&S isa over a cash one if you have enough emergency cash, and the money won't be needed for years (usually 5 or more).

As for which ISA, fund it depends on you and your risk profile. You can get an IFA, negotiate a fee based on how much you would put in/month and they would help you choose a fund, or you can get a DIY ISA thru HL or cavendishonline, and choose a lifestlye fund such as the Vanguard series, or a selection of trackers (you don't want to put it all in one Ftse100 tracker, but ones that cover all the FTSE plus other markets/areas).

Do you have a pension? What/where is it and how much do you pay in? This would be an obvious area to look into.

resilie

Thanks Atush.
I do have a NHS pension and wasn't planning on getting a second private one.
The money isn't "for" anything as such at the moment but I would be keen not to bind it up for too long as you never know (kids, hopefully, on the horizon ina few years)

atush

If you have no immediate need for it, and think it will be for 5 years or so, then go ahead with the S&S isas. If you don't want to put all your 1K in it, split it 500 into the ISA and 500 off the mtg?

A good thing about the ISAs is, that you can sell some later to fund other life things (like kids etc) or you can use it to retire earlier than your pension pay out day.

With a PS, FS pension you don't want to retire early and take the pension reduced, you want to take it at its full value so live off investments til then.