Skipton Building Society launches two new savings accounts offering competitive rates

The 18-month ISA pays four per cent interest, while the longer 30-month option provides a 3.85 per cent return.

Savers must deposit a minimum of £5,000, with a maximum limit of £1million permitted.

Neither product allows partial withdrawals during the fixed term.

Customers can contribute up to their full £20,000 ISA allowance for the current tax year and transfer existing ISA balances before the final paying-in date.

The launch comes as savers prepare for significant changes to ISA rules taking effect from April 2027.

Under the new regulations, the annual amount individuals can place into cash ISAs will be restricted to £12,000.

However, the overall ISA contribution limit will stay at £20,000, with the government aiming to encourage more people to invest their savings rather than keeping them in cash.

The change to the cash ISA limit was announced in the 2025 Budget, though speculation about potential restrictions had circulated beforehand.

Alex Sitaras, Head of Savings & Partnership Products at Skipton Building Society, said: "With ISA allowances set to change in the coming years, many people are understandably looking for straightforward ways to make the most of the tax-free opportunities available today."

Data from Murphy Wealth reveals a dramatic surge in savers maximising their cash ISA contributions ahead of the impending restrictions.

Freedom of information figures obtained by the wealth manager show 1.46 million people deposited the full allowance into cash ISAs during the 2022/23 tax year, more than doubling from 661,000 the previous year.

This represented the highest figure by a considerable margin over the preceding five tax years.

Meanwhile, those maximising stocks and shares ISAs declined from 994,000 to 840,000 over the same period.

In total, nearly 2.5 million savers filled their £20,000 allowance in 2022/23, a five-year peak.

HMRC data indicates this represented 20 per cent of all 12.4 million ISA accounts, the highest proportion recorded in the available data.

Adrian Murphy, chief executive of Murphy Wealth, identified three likely factors behind the cash ISA surge: "2022 was a bad year for stock markets, interest rates rose significantly, and savers wanted to maximise what they could of the cash allowance while it was still available."

He added: "Given savers' proclivity for saving in cash, this is only likely to have risen again in the time since – particularly in this tax year."

Mr Sitaras emphasised Skipton's commitment to supporting customers through the transition: "At Skipton, fairness matters and that means ensuring everyone has the support they need to maximise their ISA allowances before the changes take effect."