Beach has two pots, an easy access pot and a pension pot. The easy access pot is for general life savings, and the pension pot is for retirement savings.
With the easy access pot, you can save as much as you like. It includes two accounts, an ISA, where you can save up to £20,000 per tax year, and a standard account, where you can save as much as you like, there’s no upper limit.
With your standard account you can save as much as you like, but taxes will typically apply on the money you make. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep saving and investing if you want to, you’ll just need to be aware of what taxes might be due.
You won’t pay any tax through the Beach app, you’ll need to arrange this with HMRC at the end of the tax year, typically through an online Self Assessment tax return.
Note: a tax year runs from April 6th to April 5th the following year.
By adding money to your easy access pot, if you have both accounts open (an ISA and a standard account), it will first go into your ISA until you reach the £20,000 yearly limit, or if you set your own remaining allowance within your app (for instance if you are saving into an ISA elsewhere).
After that, the money you add will go into your standard account. This will then reset on April 6th and your top ups will go into your ISA again as you get a new £20,000 allowance.
The investment plan within the ISA and the standard account is exactly the same, as they are both within the easy access pot.
The investment plan within your easy access pot (so your ISA and/or standard account) is designed for lifelong saving and investing. The idea is you can add to it whenever you like, and the investment strategy remains the same, to continue growing over time, in a sensible way.
It includes a wide range of investments, such as some of the largest brands in the world, and a range of industries, such as technology and manufacturing, and from across the world, with the majority based in the US and UK.
Investments in companies are called equities, and this is where you own a share of the company, aptly called a share (or sometimes called stocks). As companies grow in value over time, often as economies grow (such as the US and UK) and as they grow and increase revenue and profit, the value of companies increases too. The experts behind the scenes make sure they’re choosing the right underlying companies to suit the investment strategy (and continually monitor it).
The investment plan also includes a portion of bonds, which are effectively loans to governments (for instance the UK and US), and sometimes large corporations, in exchange for a regular interest payment. These are often the best interest rate you can get (in terms of a comparison with a high street bank’s savings account), and seen as one of the safest investments possible, as a government (country) is highly unlikely to default on their debt (not pay what they owe).
Roughly, there’s 70% equities (stocks and shares) and 30% bonds, and this can change slightly over time. Having both of these within an investment plan aims to balance growth over time, reducing the ups and downs of the value of your investments over time, so (hopefully) it grows in a more steady fashion (although there's no guarantees).
There will be ups and downs, so that’s not to say there won’t be, which is typical of all investing, but over time, the idea is to grow significantly.
The investment plan is managed by BlackRock, the largest investment company in the world (when measured by assets they manage). They also consider things like reducing climate change, so when saving with Beach your pension could have a more positive impact on the environment and the world in general (compared to pension options without this focus).
With Beach, you can set up a regular top up, for instance adding money each month, or you can add one-off top ups as and when you like. With your ISA you can add up to £20,000 per tax year, and after that, you can save as much as you like within your standard account. All the money you make within your ISA is completely tax-free.
Saving regularly can mean your savings build up steadily over time, and there’s no chance of forgetting to add money, but some people prefer to add an amount before the end of the tax year, or at the start of the new tax year, and again during certain times in the year, you can do any of these easily with Beach.
Adding money is easy to do, and it’s all sorted in a few taps by setting up a Direct Debit, or by sending money instantly via bank transfer directly to your pension pot.
Note: tax treatment will depend on your personal circumstances, and this isn’t financial advice.
Beach is receiving great feedback on our customer service, with fast response times, and even offering WhatsApp support so you can chat away with us when you like, fitting customer support around your busy lifestyle and outside of your email inbox (we won’t be offended if you leave us on read!). There is also email support and you can send us a message in-app.
Dare we say we’re one of the most modern savings and investments providers in the UK? Find out for yourself by downloading Beach from either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Beach is for anyone looking to save more for their future, with an investment suited for general life savings, invested sensibly by experts, and tax-free within an ISA. There’s also a pension pot, designed for retirement savings, where you can combine pensions and find lost pensions.
Important information: Tax treatment depends on your personal circumstances and may change. Beach does not provide financial advice. If you are unsure about investing, please speak to a qualified financial adviser.
*When measuring assets they manage (a staggering £9 trillion as of Jan 2025).
When investing with Beach, your money can go up and down in value, so you could get back less. Learn more.
See how Beach helps people save for their future with our articles on who Beach is for.
Who Beach is for