Savings (Government Contributions) Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:59 pm on 17 October 2016.

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Photo of Jane Ellison Jane Ellison The Financial Secretary to the Treasury 4:59, 17 October 2016

That interaction has been addressed in the Bill’s impact assessment. There was some concern about the help to buy ISA and the interaction with automatic enrolment, but we have seen no evidence of it driving a higher opt-out rate. In fact, the opt-out rate for automatic enrolment is lower than forecast—even on the forecast that was revised down. I note the hon. Gentleman’s concern but I think it has been addressed in the work that we have done.

What is attractive about the lifetime ISA is that people do not have to make an immediate decision about why they are saving this money, which goes back to the hon. Gentleman’s point about people not having to make that decision at an early stage when they cannot see what is ahead.