£50,000+ to invest in isa accounts

michaelm

I've just received word today that I will coming into some money soon and will have a minimum £50,000 to lock away. Its the first time in my life that I will be able to do this and I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing and doing it right.

I'm currently a Santander 1|2|3 current account holder, but that can easily change as since paying my mortgage off last year, I have no reason to stay with them and would jump ship at the slightest reason. So on top of the initial £50,000 I will also be having my pension and benefits paid into a current account, around £1100 per month.

So taking all this into account, what are my options?

Archi_Bald

What are your plans for the money? Do you need an income from it? Are you retired? What is your tax rate? What other cash reserves do you have? What dependents do you have?

Paul_1977

I should think there are better alternative to ISA's.

jimjames

You do realise that the limit for an ISA is around £15,000 per year so you would take 4 years to get that money into an ISA?

If you are taking of investing then that makes sense inside an ISA. Cash ISAs are pointless for many people at the moment when rates are higher elsewhere.

xylophone

I am not quite sure why you would wish to ditch the 123 as it pays cash back on your utility/CT DDs and a decent rate of interest up to £20,000, and that even after next year's increased charge?

Do you wish to invest in a stocks and shares ISA and in stocks and shares outside an ISA?

Jonbvn

Paul_1977 wrote: »

I should think there are better alternative to ISA's.

What does this mean? An ISA is only the wrapper.

Atreyu107

Jonbvn wrote: »

What does this mean? An ISA is only the wrapper.

I would imagine he means a Cash ISA specifically.

Eco_Miser

michaelm wrote: »

So on top of the initial £50,000 I will also be having my pension and benefits paid into a current account, around £1100 per month.

If you've got £50,000 you're unlikely to get means tested benefits, maybe your benefits aren't means tested.

Keep the 123, maybe open other current accounts with higher interest (see link near top of page), on lower amounts, and invest in index-tracker funds in an S&S ISA.

Paul_1977

Jonbvn wrote: »

What does this mean? An ISA is only the wrapper.

I mean if the OP is prepared to take some risks with part of the money.

Obviously that is down to the OP.

macman

Without knowing anything about your attitude to risk, or what access you need to your savings, it's not possible to offer specific advice.

michaelm

Okay guys. First let me apologise for not coming back on about this sooner.

If I can just give a brief update - I will be depositing the money to my bank on Wednesday. Having had just 63p to my name till I received my pension, this is going to be unknown territory to me.

I want to get a small monthly income from this, just to top up our monthly incomings to what they were before I retired. I agree about the 1|2|3 being a decent interest bearing account as, by depositing £20,000 of the money to my personal 1|2|3 account, it would bring me £600pm less tax. My benefits aren't means tested, I receive contributions based ESA. And for all I get (£90 per fortnight), I won't lose much sleep when this runs out.

But its what to do with the rest of the money that concerns me. I should be feeling happy that we're going to have a bit of financial security going in to our later years but instead I'm just feeling anxious and concerned that I'm doing the right thing with it. I'm not a risk taker, I never have been. So I want to do the most sensible thing possible with it.