Burnham is wrong to scrap the Lifetime ISA

The article argues that the government should keep and improve the Lifetime ISA (LISA) rather than replace it with a proposed First-Time Buyer ISA in 2029. Its author says the LISA has helped hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers and can also support retirement saving, so removing it could narrow people’s choices.

The Budget reduces the withdrawal penalty for first-time buyers purchasing homes above the £450,000 price cap. The proposed replacement would be open to first-time buyers aged 18 and over, keep the £4,000 annual contribution limit and offer a bonus of up to £1,000 a year, capped at £20,000, paid when a home is bought. The author estimates that paying the bonus only at purchase could cost a typical saver £3,606 in compound growth over ten years; the article also says the LISA has helped more than 417,000 buyers purchase £67.5bn of property.