Lifetime ISA guidance updated

Newsletter issue - October 2016.

HM Treasury has updated its factsheet on the new Lifetime Individual Savings Account (ISA), which are expected to launch in April 2017. Key features of the new ISA include:

• Accounts may be opened by investors aged between 18 and 40.
• Savings invested in the account before age 50 will attract a government bonus of 25%.
• A maximum of £4,000 may be saved each year on which the 25% bonus will be paid. This equates to a maximum bonus of £1,000 a year.
• Some or all of the money can be used to buy a first home, or it can be saved until the investor is 60.
• The savings can be used for the purchase of a first home worth up to £450,000 across the country.
• Limits apply per person rather than per household.
• Investors who have a Help to Buy ISA can transfer those savings into the Lifetime ISA in 2017-18, or continue saving into both - but they will only be able to use the bonus from one to buy a house.
• After his or her 60th birthday, the investor can take out all the savings (including the bonus) tax-free.
• Money can be withdrawn at any other time, but the investor will have to pay a 25% charge. This effectively recovers the government bonus and applies a small charge.