Government Called on to 'Raise Share Plan Limit'

The government must increase the amount that Britain's workers can save in share plans, an industry group said today.

Not-for-profit financial firm ifs ProShare issued the call, as part of its campaign to have the employees' spending limit legally raised from its current level of £250 per month. Workers' share plans, which operate by diverting a proportion of each participant's salary into buying small stakes in their employer, have been subject to the same savings threshold since 1991.

When factoring in inflation, ifs ProShare says that this figure should now stand at over £400. The group also points out that around 20 per cent of employee participants in share plans are currently consistently saving at the £250 limit - signifying that many would invest still more in the shares if they had the opportunity.

Commenting, Phil Hall at ifs ProShare said: "The government has rightly talked of the importance of encouraging people to save more, particularly in the current economic climate. By increasing the amount of money employees can save in a…plan, the government can provide a tangible example of action taken to match such rhetoric.

"We very much hope that policymakers will recognise that continued failure to increase the £250 limit to at least £400 means that the amount of money employees can save is being eroded on annual basis. It's been more than 17 years since the limit was last increased, so clearly a change is overdue."

Around 2.3 million Britons currently invest in a share plan.

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