The Lifetime Isa could be a game-changing product for young people – so what’s wrong with it?
Iona chats to Nathan Long, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, abut how the Lifetime Isa works and why he’s campaigning to abolish its exit charge.
Iona then talks to Simon about whether LISAs are better than pensions and how young people should view the so-called ISA season here in the UK (as the end of the tax year approaches).
You can sign the petition to cut the LISA penalty here.
Nathan says:
”We’re campaigning for this change because we think it can give people the confidence to get on with their lives, to get on with saving and investing, despite the slightly uncertain economic backdrop…if you remove the withdrawal penalty, you’re making the Lifetime Isa a no-brainer to save into so some of the concerns around the product’s complexity go away.”
Iona says:
“At the moment, the Lifetime Isa presents the worst of all worlds. You haven’t got this brutal lock-up that the pension offers, whereby you can only access it at a certain age, so you can withdraw the cash, but you’re going to be really penalised for it. If you were to cut the penalty, the LISA would be an effective way…that they can access in emergencies in crises, and let’s face it, we’ve seen over the past year that these things come along.”
This conversation was brought to you by the Own It! podcast: Subscribe on Apple and follow on Spotify.
