Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they set a five per cent exit charge for early closure of a lifetime ISA.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Whilst the Lifetime ISA is a product aimed at encouraging saving for the long term, the government understands that circumstances change so wants to ensure that people can access their own money if they need it whilst also keeping an incentive to leave funds invested for the long term or to help purchase a first home. The government proposes that savers can make withdrawals at any time for other purposes, but with the bonus element of the fund plus any interest or growth on it returned to the government, and a 5% charge applied.