Maturing fixed rate cash ISA

Albermarle

We have a fixed rate cash ISA that ends later this month. Due to a change in circumstances we want to move it to a normal ( non ISA) savings accounts due to the better rates.
However the maturity options offered by the provider ( Ford Money) only include new cash ISA's or withdrawal, although they have fixed rate savings accounts available on their website. So it seems to transfer from a cash ISA to a normal savings account means you have to ask to withdraw the money on maturity and then reinvest it .
Is that normal ? Is it connected with this provider maybe, or is it some ISA rule that money can not be internally transferred out of an ISA wrapper by any provider?

masonic

I'm not aware of there being a transfer / maturity pathway from ISA to non-ISA product with any provider. There would be no rule preventing this, because you could give a clear instruction to withdraw the money from the ISA wrapper as you would if closing it mid-term. It's probably just a factor of not being commonly requested, or conceived of by those setting up the processes. Similar difficulties are also encountered at some providers when no ISA is involved (i.e. money must move through linked account into next market competitive savings product).

Albermarle

OK thanks , will just have to go for withdrawal on maturity . More likely to shop around more in that case, so they might lose a customer by not offering it as a maturity option.

gwapenut

One option you could consider is to transfer it to a flexible ISA and then withdraw it on the 6th April into a normal savings account. If by some remote chance there is a decent ISA season next March, you then have the option of putting the money back in your ISA before 5 April 2023 and not letting the allowance you've built up go to waste.

Of course, if you don't use your full ISA allowance every year anyway, this would be of no benefit to you.