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Homebuyer Lifetime ISA

LET THE GOVERNMENT HELP BOOST YOUR DEPOSIT 

Buy your house in record time* with a 25% Government boosted savings account. Moving into your first home is easier with the Homebuyer Lifetime ISA (LISA) thanks to a generous Government bonus. Plus, we’ll pay you interest on top as a little extra. And as an added bonus, when you’re ready to buy your home you can get fee-free mortgage advice from Mortgage Advice Bureau.

There’s five simple steps to moving into your new home:  

1. Open your Lifetime ISA through our app
2. Set your deposit goal and start saving  
3. Search for your dream house 
4. Let us help you find the right mortgage 
5. Move in! 

*We’re not promising Olympic speed savings here, you still have to have your account open for 12 months before buying your first home to avoid a 25% Government withdrawal charge. Remember, home-buying is a marathon, not a sprint. 

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Fee-free mortgage advice

Being a first-time buyer, you wouldn't have been through the home buying process before - that's why we've partnered with Mortgage Advice Bureau. Their expert advisers will help you through every step in your journey and will search thousands of mortgages from over 90 different lenders to find the right deal for you. And as an added bonus, you'll get fee-free mortgage advice when you've saved enough to buy your first home.  

WHAT'S A LISA?

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 your big milestone: your first home. 

If you are 18-39 and looking to save for your first home, a Homebuyer 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 – although hopefully it won’t take that long for you to save your deposit. 

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.


Things to know

Tax-free savings (also known as Individual Savings Accounts or ISAs) accounts are simple, really: with accounts like these you won’t have to pay tax on the interest you earn. There’s also a cap on how much you can add each tax year, depending on your circumstances, and keep in mind that the tax rules around ISAs could change. 

AER, or Annual Equivalent Rate, is designed to make savings accounts easier to compare. The AER will show you what your interest rate would be if interest was paid back into your account. For accounts that pay interest annually, the gross rate and the AER should be the same. For accounts that pay interest monthly the AER will be slightly higher than the gross rate. This is because if you leave your monthly interest in the account you’d start to earn interest on the interest.
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The highlights

  • piggy-bankSave for your first house
  • houseFee-free mortgage advice from Mortgage Advice Bureau
  • percentage25% Government bonus
  • usersUK residents aged 18-39
  • mobileOpen in our app with £1 today
  • sunEarn interest tax-free
  • coinsDeposit up to £4,000 per year

Why choose a LISA?

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Earn up to £1,000 a year

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.

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Transfer to another provider any time

While we think you’ll love saving with your Homebuyer Lifetime ISA, you’re not locked in if you change your mind. You can move your LISA to another bank or building society in the future.

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Fee-free mortgage advice

Once you've saved enough to buy your first home, you'll get fee-free mortgage advice from our expert partner, Mortgage Advice Bureau, who will find your perfect mortgage.

Who's eligible?

Anyone aged 18 to 39 saving for their first home. 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.

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Fee-free mortgage advice

We know that getting expert advice is key to securing the right mortgage. That's why we've partnered with Mortgage Advice Bureau who're providing all Beehive Homebuyer Lifetime ISA customers with fee-free mortgage advice, as long as you're using your savings to purchase your first home.

That's right - the fee advice from Mortgage Advice Bureau is typically between 0.30% - 1.00% of the amount borrowed, but you'll get the advice fee-free. 

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. 

LISA-transfer

Transferring from your existing provider

If you’ve been putting money away in a Lifetime ISA already, it’s simple to transfer to Beehive Money. There’s no tricky applications or confusing jargon, simply download the app, click on the Homebuyer Lifetime ISA and follow some simple steps in the app. We’ll take over from there. 

Once the transfer is complete you get:

  • Our handy savings goal tracker to watch your deposit as it grows
  • Goal setting and milestone tools to help you save for your deposit more effectively with help and guidance along the way
  • Access to a variety of tools to help you know how much deposit you’ll need
  • Mortgage recommendations searched from over 90 lenders and thousands of mortgages.

Psst! Here's the important part

Your home may be repossessed if you don’t keep up repayments on your mortgage.

There may be a fee for advice. The amount you pay will depend on your circumstances. The fee is up to 1.00% but a typical fee is 0.30% of the amount borrowed. However, Beehive Homebuyer Lifetime ISA customers using their savings to purchase a house will not pay an advice fee.

Important information about the LISA

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.

What is the interest rate and is it fixed?

The annual interest rate is variable and there may be times we need to change it. Right now, it’s set at 0.80% tax-free p.a/AER.

Will I have to pay tax on the interest?

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.

How do I get the bonus payments?

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. 

Can I withdraw my money

Technically yes but if you take money out for anything other than your first home purchase, 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 those 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.

How do I open a LISA with Beehive?

Once you’ve downloaded the Beehive Money app and registered, it’s easy to apply for an account. We’ll ask you for a few details, including your National Insurance number, your bank details and previous addresses, so simply open the app, tap ‘apply’ and make sure you have those to hand. If you’re aged 40 or over, though, you can’t open an account. Sorry about that. 

Find out more about the Lifetime ISA.

After a year, how much could I save?

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.

When can I buy a home with a Lifetime ISA?

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.

Will I need to meet any criteria to be eligible?

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. 

I'm ready to buy my first home. How do I withdraw money from my Lifetime ISA?

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.

Ready to get started?

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Download and sign up

Install the Beehive Money app and sign up to be added to the waiting list. You can sign up for news and updates here too.

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Select Homebuyer LISA

Once you have access to Beehive account, log in and select the Homebuyer Lifetime ISA. If you're switching provider, select 'transfer in'.

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Set goals, achieve milestones

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 your deposit. And when you’re ready, we'll be there with mortgage advice too.

Your savings are protected

Your savings will be protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. There’s more about that here.

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Looking for something different?

Don’t sweat it, we have a range of accounts you can choose from. Check them out below.

Retirement Lifetime ISA

Do you already own your home and want to open a Lifetime ISA to save for your retirement? If you're aged between 18-39 then check out our Retirement Lifetime ISA.

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Easy access

Our easy access account is a flexible account with very few restrictions, which makes it a great choice for those who want to put away money but be able to access it at any time, without charges or penalties, and it’s never, ever ‘locked’ away.

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All savings 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.

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Save - manage - buy

Start saving for a brighter future with Beehive Money. Save money, achieve goals and buy your home all through the app.