The annual interest rate is variable and there may be times we need to change it. Right now, it’s set at 3.30% tax-free p.a/AER.
Moving into your first home or increasing your retirement pot is easier thanks to a generous 25% Government boosted savings account.
LISA (pronounced lie-sa) is short for Lifetime ISA. It’s a tax-free savings account and Government scheme designed to help you save for two big milestones: your first home purchase and retirement.
If you are 18-39 and looking to save for one of those milestones, a Lifetime ISA could be ideal. This tax-free savings account is boosted by a 25% Government bonus, which means as well as earning interest, you could earn up to £1,000 a year in bonuses alone until you turn 50.
It works like this. For every £4 you save, the Government will add £1. So each tax year you can put an annual total of £4,000 into your Beehive LISA and you can earn up to £1,000 in bonuses.
Use our Lifetime ISA calculator to work out how much you could earn based on how much you can afford to save.
Lifetime ISA FAQs
25% Government bonus
UK residents aged 18-39
Must be funded before you turn 40
Open online with £1 today
Save for your first house or retirement
Deposit up to £4,000 per year
Fee-free mortgage advice from Mortgage Advice Bureau for first-time buyers
Earn interest tax-free
You’ll get a free 25% Government bonus for every £4 you save, up to a maximum yearly bonus of £1,000. It’s a great way to supercharge your savings.
You can transfer your existing Lifetime ISA to us and you’re not locked in if you change your mind. You can move your LISA to another bank or building society in the future.
If you're saving for your first home, you get access to fee-free mortgage advice from our expert partner, Mortgage Advice Bureau, who will find your perfect mortgage.
Anyone aged 18 to 39 saving for their first home or retirement. You can’t withdraw money from this account for pretty much any other reason – there are just a couple of exceptions, including terminal illness – and if you do, you’ll have to pay a 25% Government withdrawal charge. So if you’re saving for something else, have a look at our other savings accounts.
Generally, mortgage lenders will require you to save 10% of the property price, so having a 25% Government boost could be a really good way to moving into your first home sooner.
Then, once you've saved your deposit, customers using their Lifetime ISA to buy their first home can get fee-free expert mortgage advice to secure the right deal from our partner Mortgage Advice Bureau
Their expert advisers will search thousands of mortgages from over 90 different lenders so you can be sure they’ll find you the right deal for your first home. You can learn more by reading the full terms and conditions here.
If you’re thinking about planning your long-term financial security, you can use your Lifetime ISA to save for retirement. You have up to the age of 40 to open an account, and can add up £4,000 a year and earn Government bonuses until you turn 50. After that, the account will remain open and keep earning interest until you can start withdrawing when you turn 60.
It’s as simple as that, really. It’s not the only way to save for retirement, though, so you might think about getting financial advice to explore your options.
Now we’ve given you an overview of the LISA and how it works, you might have one or two questions. We’ve answered some of them below.
The annual interest rate is variable and there may be times we need to change it. Right now, it’s set at 3.30% tax-free p.a/AER.
No, you won’t. The LISA is a tax-free savings account, so you won’t have to pay tax on the annual interest you earn or the 25% Government bonus. However, if you have other ISAs you’re investing in, make sure you’re aware of your annual ISA limits.
We add the 25% Government bonus to your account automatically once it’s been processed by HMRC, which is usually 4-9 weeks after each deposit. Remember: bonuses are capped at £1,000 a year, and you can only access your savings when you spend your LISA savings on your first home purchase or when you turn 60 years old.
Technically yes but if you take money out for anything other than your first home purchase or retirement, you’ll have to pay a 25% Government withdrawal charge. That means you might get back less than you paid in. There are some exceptions, like if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness, and you can find out more about these here. By the way, you have to wait until 12 months after you open your LISA to use it to buy your first home; if you’re hoping to buy a house quite soon, you might be better off with a different type of account.
We've made the process of opening a Lifetime ISA really easy. Start our online application where we’ll ask you for a few details, including your National Insurance number, your bank details and previous addresses, so make sure you have those to hand. If you’re aged 40 or over, though, you can’t open an account. Sorry about that.
Yes, absolutely. Full transfers from a single LISA provider are permitted for applications to our Online Lifetime ISA.
Well, that depends! Your total will be the money you’ve put in your account, plus the 25% Government bonus, plus interest. At most you can put away £4,000 and earn a £1,000 bonus, plus interest, every year. Have a go with our Lifetime ISA calculator for an estimate.
12 months after you open your account; if you withdraw money to buy a house any sooner, you’ll have to pay the 25% Government withdrawal charge.
Yes, just a few. You’ll need to be a UK resident, aged 18-39, and you can have more than one LISA but can only fund one each tax year. You can only use the money to buy your first home. To benefit from the bonus to buy your first home, you need to have opened your Lifetime ISA at least 12 months before you want to buy a house. The house can’t cost more than £450,000, and it has to be your actual home – not a buy-to-let, or anything like that. If you are turning 18 you’ll need to ensure that your chosen nominated bank account is changed to an adult account and the data needs to be shared with Experian credit reference agency as this can take a couple of months to update – please refer to your financial provider for this. To benefit from the bonus for retirement, you must be aged 60+ to withdraw your funds.
You’ve taken the first major step and opened your Lifetime ISA. You’ve worked hard to save every payday and you’re ready to buy your first home. But how do you access your funds? Read our step-by-step guide to using your savings to buy your first home.
To join Beehive Money you can do this one of two ways. You can register on your desktop, or if you'd prefer you can install our app and follow the instructions on your screen.
Once you have access to Beehive, choose the account that's right for you. We have a whole range available, such as fixed rates, easy access accounts, Cash ISAs and the Lifetime ISA.
We know that you’re more likely to achieve your dream if you set goals. Our goal tracker and a helpful milestone will help motivate you to save for a brighter future.
Your savings will be protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. There’s more about that here.
Don’t sweat it, we have a range of accounts you can choose from. Check them out below.
If you'd like to put money away on a monthly basis or are looking to get into the habit of saving a bit more, a Beehive regular savings account could be the savings account you need as you to pay in a set amount of money each month, letting your balance consistently grow over time.
Regular saver accounts
If you can put your money away for a set period in a fixed rate savings account, we'll pay you a fixed rate of interest. You can be rest assured that the interest rate will stay the same for the term of your account.
Fixed rate accounts
Not sure about which account you’re after? Whatever your goals and however you’d like to save, we have a range of accounts for almost everyone at Beehive.
See all our accounts
Start saving for a brighter future with Beehive Money. Save money, achieve goals and buy your home all through the app.
