National pensions and financial advice firm LEBC has urged the Treasury to relax the deadline for savers to make ISA and pension contributions by two weeks.

It wants the deadline for this tax year moved back from 5 April to 19 April as a one-off measure to give people more time to invest.

The company, founded by Chartered Financial Planner Jack McVitie, says that market volatility is likely to have deterred people from making their mind up about where and how to invest.

It believes many could be key workers and those in the emergency services but an extension would help everyone.

Kay Ingram, director of public policy at LEBC, said: “Given the unprecedented disruption to normal daily life, many savers will not yet have made arrangements to use their ISA allowance or make pension contributions for the current tax year.”

“In responding to the crisis, those in essential services in the health service, civil servants, food producers and distributors – as well as businesses throughout the country – could lose out. 

“It would be unfair if in responding to the emergency, people missed the opportunity to plan for their longer-term future. In these special circumstances, we would like to see the tax year deadline of 5 April extended to 19 April, as a special one-off measure.”

LEBC has closed its offices and switched its staff to home working.