Using an ISA or a pension can be an excellent way of making one’s savings go the extra mile. After all, when it comes to our saving and/or investing goals, taking advantage of the tax efficiencies these products offer is a no-brainer.

Investors are often confused as to which one to invest in, but it is by no means an either/or discussion at all – quite the opposite, in fact.

The reality is that ISAs and pensions are tailored to meet different savings requirements and, in the vast majority of cases, should be used together to ensure one’s overall finances are as tax efficient as possible.

Rather than trying to decide whether a pension or an ISA is better once and for all, the debate should instead centre on which is more advantageous in a given situation.

To ensure they are properly equipped to make this call, savers must ensure they are aware of the differences between the products.

Similarities and differences

At their heart, both pensions and ISAs (in their various forms) are designed as tax-efficient savings vehicles.

Both allow individuals to hold their savings in cash, shares and government and corporate bonds as well as a wide universe of funds that spread their money across a diversified portfolio of assets. Both also allow savings to grow tax-free, as no income tax or capital gains tax is incurred as the value grows.  No tax is due when money ultimately is accessed from an ISA whilst some income tax may be payable when taking money from a pension – more detail on how this works below.

It’s when you get down to the minutiae that the differences between pensions and ISAs become more apparent.

For example, on the one hand, employers are not obliged to make contributions into an employee’s ISA while they are, in many cases, into an employee’s workplace pension. On the other, ISA savers are not charged income tax when they access their money, whereas pension savings are taxable once the 25% tax-free pension commencement lump sum has been withdrawn

Other differences exist beyond these, but perhaps the two most important when deciding which to use are tax relief and flexibility.

Beginning with tax relief.  When one puts money into a pension (the maximum annual contribution on which tax relief is available currently is £40,000, subject to having sufficient earned income to support this), the government gives a rebate that is equivalent to one’s marginal rate of tax to top up the pension. In simple terms, this means that it only costs a basic rate taxpayer £80 to invest £100.

Couple tax relief with the money an employer is obliged to table, and it is easy to see how the value of pension savings may be enhanced, above and beyond any investment performance.

Conversely, while this “free money” in the form of tax relief and/or employer contributions, is not available to ISA investors, and where a lower annual allowance of £20,000 currently is in place, what an ISA has instead is superior flexibility.

Whilst savers may usually only access their pension funds from age 55 onwards (57 from 2028), ISA savers can access their funds whenever they like. That being said, it should be noted that some types of ISAs (such as the Lifetime ISA) do impose conditions on withdrawals.

The role of goals

What is clear is that neither a pension nor an ISA is “better” than the other– they are different tax-efficient products for different purposes.

For those thinking about saving for their retirement, the pension is the obvious choice. Not only do investors receive more tax benefits than if they were to use an ISA, but the fact that they cannot access their money before age 55 also removes the temptation for early withdrawal.

However, for those with more short-term savings requirements, buying a house or a car, or putting a child through school or university, for example, an ISA might be a better solution. Indeed, although contributions will not enjoy government or employer top-ups, ISA savings can still grow without that growth being taxed and has the added benefit of being accessible at any time.

ISAs and pensions are two different savings propositions, but they could both be suitable for the same person.

After all, we all have a variety of goals for our money. Just because we want to make sure we have enough money to live on when we retire, doesn’t mean we don’t also want to put some of our disposable income away for a rainy day where we can access it at short notice.

It is for this reason that, for many of us, it makes sense to pay money into both an ISA and a pension to ensure that all of our savings needs are supported by the tax efficiencies available to us.

Important Information

The contents of this article are for information purposes only and do not constitute advice or a personal recommendation. Investors are advised to seek professional advice before entering into any investment decisions. Please also note the value of investments and the income you get from them may fall as well as rise and there is no certainty that you will get back the amount of your original investment. You should also be aware that past performance may not be a reliable guide to future performance.