LISA0132

Written evidence submitted by Anonymous

I have been a Lifetime ISA customer at Moneybox after being referred by a friend to help in my goal of buying a home once I become a practicing doctor. I am submitting evidence to the Committee’s inquiry to voice my support for the product.

I opened it in August 2023 when I realised I would likely no longer be eligible for the Help to Buy ISA government bonus when the time comes to buy, and the £250,000 limit would drastically limit the number of eligible properties. After much deliberation and seeking financial guidance, I decided to switch to the LISA.

I immediately started saving the maximum £4000 into my LISA and plan to continue to do so each year. Personally, I love my LISA; Saving £4,000 each year strikes a good balance—challenging but still achievable—and receiving the £1,000 Government bonus each year feels like a great reward for the effort. I currently work a couple of zero-hour jobs as a Registered Nurse to help me save to buy for my first home. As a student on Graduate Entry Medicine financing, I receive only around £7,000 annually from the maximum maintenance loan and NHS bursary despite a low familial income. While I work alongside my studies as much as I safely can, I must balance this with managing my epilepsy, which may limit my hours and require dipping into my deposit savings for living expenses. Moneybox is supporting my dream of homeownership with the LISA.

Whilst I am hugely supportive of LISA, there are potential improvements. By a long way, the biggest issue I have with the LISA is the £450,000 price cap, which I would recommend be increased. One of my possible plans is to buy a shared ownership flat in London, as a lot of the roles in the medical speciality I’m most passionate about are based there, and therefore that makes a lot of places unavailable with the LISA. Another change which I'd appreciate is for the withdrawal charge to be either reduced or stopped. I hope to never need to use the money in my account for anything other than a mortgage deposit, but circumstances can change, especially for those with medical conditions like me.

I would implore the Committee to suggest keeping the LISA as it helps many hardworking aspirational people like me save for a first home and suggest the Government raises the cap, perhaps in line with house price rises, and reduces, if not, removes the withdrawal penalty.

January 2025