Tuesday, 4 November 2008

Yang mana satu atau dua2?

Or A Combination of Both

If you're a basic-rate tax payer with a pretty good chance of becoming a higher-rate tax payer at some time in the future, then it's an excellent idea to save into an ISA first. You can build up a lump sum in the ISA wrapper while your earnings are still subject to income tax at the basic rate.

But once you have sufficient earnings on which you pay higher-rate tax, the perfect opportunity emerges to move your savings into a pension. You won't suffer any capital gains tax (CGT) by closing your ISA, but by moving the sum into a pension you'll instantly qualify for 40% tax relief on that amount. And this is going to be a massive boost to your pension fund.

That said, this only applies as long as you have sufficient earnings in the tax year which are subject to higher-rate tax to cover the amount of the contribution. If you don't have enough earnings on which you pay 40% tax, then you could move money in phases out of your ISA and into your pension over a series of tax years, although you'll need to ensure your ISA allows partial withdrawals.

So that concludes the main factors you need to think about. Remember whichever route you go down, choose an investment fund which is consistent with your attitude to risk and keep an eye out for the charges too. To a certain extent that final decision will depend on your personal circumstances but perhaps it shouldn't even be an 'either/or' question.

I think the best option is to invest as much as you can comfortably afford into pensions and ISAs to get the best of both worlds while taking advantage of all the generous tax breaks.

NB: For full article http://www.fool.co.uk/news/retirement-pensions/2007/11/05/pensions-versus-isas.aspx


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