A stocks and shares ISA is a tax efficient way to save for the medium to long term. Through us you have access to a range of different investment opportunities and can invest a regular monthly amount, a lump sum – or both.

The value of an investment in a stocks and shares ISA can fall as well as rise and you could get back less than you invest.  Because of this, although there is no fixed term, you should be prepared to hold an investment in a stocks and shares ISA for at least five years, ideally longer.

You must be:

• Aged 18 or over and habitually resident in the UK
• Resident in the UK for tax purposes
• A Crown servant (e.g. diplomatic or overseas civil service) or their spouse, or registered civil partner if you don’t live in the UK

Unfortunately, you can't apply for an Aegon Stocks and Shares ISA if you're a US citizen or a US tax payer.

No, ISAs can only be held in a single name.

You have no personal liability to capital gains tax on any growth, or income tax on any income you receive. You don’t have to declare ISA income or growth on your tax return.

This information is based on our understanding of current, taxation law and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) practice. The tax treatment of ISAs may be subject to change in the future. The tax benefits depend on your individual circumstances.

The ISA annual allowance for the current tax year is £20,000. You can choose to use your whole ISA allowance for your stocks and shares ISA or you can split your ISA allowance across different types of ISA and ISA providers in accordance with the regulations. You mustn't contribute more than £20,000 across any permitted combination of ISAs in the same tax year and it's your responsibility to make sure that you don't exceed the annual ISA allowance.     

You can top up your ISA based on any minimums set out in the key features document  Just make sure your total payments into your ISA (or ISAs)  don’t exceed the annual allowance for that tax year.

You can also transfer between products by moving funds from your General Investment Account (GIA) to an existing ISA or to a new ISA with ourselves. This offers the option to maximise your tax-efficient ISA allowance.

Your Aegon ISA is a flexible ISA. This means that money withdrawn from your ISA and paid to you can be replaced within the same tax year, without the replacement counting towards your yearly ISA allowance. This includes money paid to you as consolidated natural income (where you've asked us to pay out income generated by your investments to your nominated bank account on a monthly basis in accordance with the terms and conditions).

You can't replace any money that's removed from the ISA but not paid to you (for example, to pay fees or charges) or anything that isn't paid out as cash (for example, by re-registration of shares). You also can't replace money if your product is closed or repay any withdrawals from an ISA with a third party.

You can withdraw money paid in and income earned in the current tax year and previous tax years. 

• Withdrawals will count against any payments in the current year first. 
• Any additional amount is treated as a withdrawal of a payment from a previous tax year. 
• If money is replaced (must be in the same tax year as the withdrawal), any withdrawn subscriptions from a previous year are repaid first, followed by withdrawn subscriptions from the current year. 

Your online account will show the amount available to invest each tax year, taking into account any payments already made this tax year as well as any withdrawals. 

The cash facility lets you hold cash in your stocks and shares ISA. This money can be used to invest into funds, to pay charges or can be withdrawn.

Any money in the cash facility accrues interest which we pay on a monthly basis. We pay interest at a gross rate based on the Bank of England base rate. View details of the current rate we pay.

You can add money to the cash facility in three ways:

• By logging into your investment summary and following the top-up journey. This lets you pay into your cash facility by debit card, bank transfer or cheque.
• By direct debit – you need to complete an instruction to your bank or building society to pay by Direct Debit.
• For investments that generate income – you can choose to leave any income you get in your cash account.

Transferring existing ISAs to us lets you have all ISA investments in one account with one consolidated statement. It may make tracking your investment performance and making any changes to your portfolio easier. 

You can transfer existing stocks and shares ISAs and cash ISAs held with other providers to us. We don’t make a direct charge to you for ISA transfers, but your current provider may charge an exit charge. You can transfer ISAs from previous tax years in full or in part and it won't affect this year's ISA allowance. If you're transferring an ISA that holds current tax year subscriptions, you must transfer that amount in full.

Transferring does not affect your annual ISA allowance. You can transfer as many ISAs as you want to Aegon. If you're transferring from a flexible ISA, please be aware that you will lose the ability to replace any withdrawals made before the transfer. In order not to lose that ability, you will need to repay the amount withdrawn before transferring to Aegon.

Please note, if you transfer a cash or lifetime ISA to us, we’ll convert it to a stocks and shares ISA and your lifetime ISA status will be lost along with any other benefits specific to that ISA. If you transfer your Lifetime ISA to a stocks and shares ISA, you'll be subject to the 25% withdrawal charge.

Transferring or consolidating ISAs may not be the best option for you. It's up to you to decide if this is the right decision for you - so make sure you compare products before transferring or consolidating. 

You should speak to a financial adviser in the first instance if you need advice about your investments. There’s likely to be a charge for this. If you don’t have a financial adviser, you can find one in your area by visiting MoneyHelper, or find out more about advice services supported by Aegon by visiting Origen.

Origen Financial Services Ltd is wholly owned by Aegon UK plc but operates independently to us.

It's important to remember the value of your consolidated stocks and shares ISA can still fall as well as rise and you may get less than you invest. So although our stocks and shares ISA has no fixed term, you should be prepared to remain invested for at least five years - ideally longer.

If you’re transferring from a cash ISA to our stocks and shares ISA, you’re actually transferring between two very different products. In a cash ISA your money is held on deposit, but in a stocks and shares ISA the value can fall as well as rise.

Any new investments you move your money into will have their own set of risks that will be detailed in the fund information that will be available to you.