The basics:
>18-39 to open one
>pay in anything upto £4k per tax year
>25% hmrc top up on payments in that year each april
>can pay in every year up to 50 years old
>can only withdraw the money with no penalty for a first time property buy or upon turning 60 years old
>25% penalty for withdrawing at any other time for any other purpose, effectively a 6.25% penalty on what you initially paid in
>counts towards your overall £20k a year isa allowance
I've been toying with the idea of starting to save seriously for buying a house but I've been unconvinced that it's the best investment for me. However, this makes it seem like it may be the best option now. I've got £4k to stick in one right now then I should be able to put £1-2k a year for the next few years too which should get me a decent deposit. I'm highly unlikely to need to take the money out for any reason so the penalties don't concern me, and even if I do the penalty is manageable.
It's a fantastic deal if you're planning on buying your first house within the next few years. You probably shouldn't use it for retirement savings, because a conventional pension is a much better deal for most people. There are some caveats, so I'd suggest reading the guide at the link below.
>>7014 I was just watching Lewis talking about it on This Morning which prompted me to start the thread. He was saying it's a bad idea as a retirement savings account and I'm not thinking about retirement right now anyway. It would purely be to save for a first time buy. I plan to be a homeowner within three years but I may delay it if I think I can pay a decent amount into this ISA an get the bonuses for a few more years.
As I alluded to in my OP, I'm not desperate to become a homeowner anyway so I don't mind renting for a bit longer if it makes sense for me. The only thing I'm wary of is an even better offer presenting itself in future although it does seem unlikely right now that there'll be something significantly better than this any time soon.
I very much doubt you'll get a better deal any time soon. You can open a Lifetime ISA with an initial investment of £1 to lock in the deal, then transfer money in at a later date and still get the bonus.
The problem with the Lifetime ISA is the lack of providers as they're shit scared of a mis-buying scandal, especially as they've been waiting for more clarity from the FCA.
Skipton launched the only cash Lifetime ISA last week and there's only two or three equity versions.
>>7017 Is there any reason to be concerned about the lack of providers? I've been looking at the Skipton product, I can't conceive of any reason to not go for it. I think they offer a 0.5% interest rate if I remember rightly, which is mostly irrelevant because the only reason anyone is doing it is for the government bonus. From what I understand, if I invest with Skipton, then more providers offer the Lifetime ISA in future, then I can freely transfer my balance with no penalty to another Lifetime ISA.
>>7020 I imagine they'd either let existing investors continue or stop them from contributing in future years but with everything built up so far preserved.