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Martin Lewis Urges Everyone Under 40 To Claim £1,000 A Year Bonus Now

Martin Lewis Urges Everyone Under 40 To Claim £1,000 A Year Bonus Now

The money saving expert says if you're hoping to buy a home in the next 10 years, you should open a Lifetime ISA

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Martin Lewis has urged under-40s to open a Lifetime ISA (LISA) and make the most of the yearly £1,000 government bonus.

The LISA gives first-time buyers a 25 percent bonus (up to £1,000 per year) on their savings but only after it has been open for a year.

So you could open one with £1 in now to get the ball rolling, and then it's there if and when it's needed.

PA

Writing in his weekly MoneySavingExpert newsletter, Lewis said: "If you hope to buy your first home in the next 10 years, put £1 in a Lisa now.

"Lifetime ISAs give first-time buyers a 25% bonus (up to £1,000 a year) on their savings, but only after it's been open a year. So open one with £1 now, to start the clock, so it's usable if/when needed."

You could save up to £4,000 a year in the account which would go towards your first home or even retirement and then the state adds a cash bonus of up to £1,000 a year on top. Nice of them, innit?

You'll also be in for some interest on whatever you save and, because it's an ISA, it'll be tax-free.

Just to confirm, it's only for people under the age of 40. Sorry to anyone who doesn't fall into that bracket. You too old.

PA

If it comes to it and you decide you don't want to use the LISA for your first home you can instead keep putting money in the account and after you hit 60 you can use it for your retirement.

You can only save up to £4,000 a year, either by putting in a lump sum or putting in cash when and as - the government will then add the 25 percent bonus to it.

If you manage to save £1,000, you'll have £1,250 - it might not feel like much but it's literally free money. If you save the maximum £4,000, you'll have £5,000 in with the top up.

To save the £4,000 monthly, you'll need to put £333 a month into the account over a 12 month period.

According to the Moneysavingexpert site, if you're nearing the big 4-0, you can open one before hitting the cut-off age and then you can carry on putting money in until the day before your 50th birthday.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Money, UK