TL;DR
LISA: £4,000/year max, 25% bonus (£1,000/year free money). Withdrawable at 60 for retirement, or earlier for a first home up to £450,000. Penalty for any other withdrawal is 25% of total balance.
In short
For FIRE planners, the LISA's lock until 60 means it functions as a SIPP-bridge for first-home buyers, or a post-60 retirement bucket. The 25% bonus is the highest of any UK wrapper but only on the contributed amount, and the early withdrawal penalty effectively claws back the bonus and then some.
We're working on a full deep-dive for this article — including historical data, charts, and worked examples. In the meantime, you can run a free simulation to explore the underlying numbers yourself.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I open a LISA after age 40?
- No — you must open it between 18 and 40. Once opened you can contribute until 50.
- Is the LISA bonus better than higher-rate SIPP relief?
- For higher-rate taxpayers, marginal SIPP relief (40%) usually beats the LISA bonus (25%). For basic-rate taxpayers, LISA + 25% bonus is competitive with SIPP basic-rate relief.
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