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03rd Apr 2022

Martin Lewis warns you have just days left to get free £1,000 from government

Charlie Herbert

You’ll need to act before April 6

Martin Lewis has explained how there is not much time left for people to make the use of a savings scheme that could see you get a free £1,000 from the government.

It’s all dependent on whether you have a Lifetime ISA or not.

The Money Saving Expert urged anyone with a Lifetime ISA (LISA) to act fast to secure the free cash.

If you have a LISA you can put away up to £4,000 each year, and the government will give you a 25 percent bonus on top of this.

Those of you who are good at maths will have already worked out that this means you can get up to £1,000 free from the government.

But time is running out to make the most of the free LISA money, with Lewis warning that savers need to “use or lose” their LISA allowances, the Mirror reports. The current tax year ends on April 5, so you’ll need to transfer any money into the LISA by then.

In one of his recent MoneySavingExpert emails, Lewis said: “If you’re a first-time buyer, check out the Lifetime ISA’s 25% boost worth up to £1,000/year on your first home.”

A LISA can be opened by any UK residents aged between 18 and 39, with the savings able to be used to put towards a deposit for a first home or for retirement.

But if you take out your savings for any reason other than these, you’ll lose your bonus and pay a 25 percent penalty.

Bare in minds though that however much you put away in a LISA will count towards your overall yearly ISA allowance of £20,000. But if you’re saving for a first home, then no other regular savings account comes close to the 25 percent interest rate of a LISA.

You can find out more information about LISAs on the government website here.

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