A moneybox lisa is a Lifetime ISA managed by the smartphone app moneybox. Moneybox is an app that is trying to make investing easier, particularly for younger people. It takes the money from whichever account you give it access to and automatically invests it for you.
What is a Lifetime ISA (or lisa)?
A Lifetime ISA is one of the services you can opt for on the app. Moneybox’s website describes a lisa as “a product designed by the government to help you to purchase your first home or save towards retirement”. You can pay in up to £4000 per year into the LISA, and you’ll get a 25% government bonus on it. So for every £4 you put in, you’ll get a £1 out.
When can I withdraw the funds from a lisa?
After 12 months of the lisa being open – so from when you make your first contribution – you can withdraw money without penalty, for a house payment, if the house is £450,000 or less, you’re paying with a mortgage, it is your first house, and you’re using a solicitor to assist your purchase. Or, for retirement. Prior to this 12 months, there is a government penalty of 20%.
Are there any options on types of lisa?
Yes, moneybox offers a cash lifetime ISA, which is what has been spoken about above, or a stocks and shares ISA. The latter involves you putting money into funds and then relying on the stocks and shares to rise – however it is important to note that these can also fall, making this the riskier choice.
What else do I need to know?
- Moneybox also allows you to transfer a pre-existing lisa to them, as well as allowing you to transfer a Help to Buy lisa to them, or swapping a cash lisa to a stocks and shares one.
- You can have more than one cash lisa, but you can only invest in one each tax year
- You can have a Help to Buy lisa and a cash lisa, but you can only use the bonus on one of them to help buy your first house
- Anyone ages 18 – 39 can set up a lisa, and you can pay in every year until you’re 50
How safe is moneybox?
The app itself will ask you, once you have made an account, to set up a 5 digit security pin (like any banking app). It is also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so that you can feel comfortable sharing personal and financial details with the service. Additionally, banking details are not saved by moneybox.
Ultimately, the app is trustworthy and has plenty of positive reviews online. So if you’re looking for a way to save where you can’t access it to pay for that cheeky Chinese – maybe a moneybox lisa is worth considering.
