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Martin Lewis Says Opening Help To Buy ISA Can Bag You A £3,000 Bonus

Martin Lewis Says Opening Help To Buy ISA Can Bag You A £3,000 Bonus

You've only got until November to cash in

Amelia Ward

Amelia Ward

First time buyers are being urged to open a Help to Buy ISA in the next six months or risk missing out on getting £3,000 for free.

The TV presenter, who founded the financial information website MoneySavingExpert.com, has said that even if young people aren't planning to buy a home yet, they should open one - as the return on the investment is so good.

The Help to Buy ISA was launched in 2015 to help people get on the property ladder and sees the government top up your savings by 25 percent.

PA

Martin is encouraging people to open one now if they haven't already, as the offer will no longer be available from November. The Lifetime ISA (LISA) then steps in as its replacement,

With the current ISA, even if you only put £1 in, you can add more to it when you start adulting - if you want to.

If you come into some money, you can open the account with £1,200, but then you would be limited to saving £200 per month. The minimum you need to have saved for the government to apply the £3,000 bonus is £1,400.

Pexels

The maximum you can get is £3,000 on savings of £12,000, bringing your total up to a massive £15,000.

In the MSE newsletter, Martin wrote: "If you think you'll need these [the Government top-up] but aren't sure, just open them. You need £1 in a Help To Buy ISA by November 30 or you lose the opportunity."

PA

As if that wasn't already impressive enough, the government will also give up a 25 percent bonus if you use your LISA to buy a home or for retirement.

You can have both ISAs at the same time but you can only use the bonus from one of them towards buying your home.

Martin continued: "They're a great way to save for older children. If your kids are 16+ for a Help to Buy ISA or 18+ for a LISA, the bonus means these are a great place to give them money to save in, if you have it."

You don't have forever to get that maximum though, as the Government will boost your savings when you buy your first home, but it will need to be by 30 November 2029 - so that gives you ten years to save £12,000 if you want to take advantage of the maximum. That's achievable, right?

Right?

Featured Image Credit: Pexels

Topics: uk news, Money