LISA, ISA or SIPP

Albermarle

So in a simple summary >
A Stocks and shares LISA with A J Bell looks the best bet . Which is what you were looking at in the first place  
As I mentioned before , when you pick a fund(s) to invest in within the Lisa , look for one with low charges eg 0.25% pa 

Clairebearx

Thank you for all those wise words, it's certainly helped clear the fog a lot more!

Alexland said:

If you are putting money aside until age 60+ then a Cash LISA would be unsuitable as the interest rate is too low to maintain spending power so you are essentially burning your bonus on inflation. Cash LISAs are only intended for those who are going to make a qualifying property purchase soon.

You may find AJ Bell is your most suitable S&S LISA provider as they will allow transfer-in of your existing Cash LISA

Yes, I released in the last few days the cash LISA wasn't the best idea in my circumstances as i wouldn't be using it any time soon and so it would erode away.

I managed to put £2500 (inc bonus) into it and did wonder if i could get this balanced transferred over into my new S&S LISA, so that info is really helpful, especially as i was leaning towards AJ Bell for my LISA 👌

Alexland

Cool 1 month to go to deposit a further £2k for another £500 bonus. Remember to open your AJ Bell LISA before your 40th as their software doesn't support opening an account after 40 even if you are allowed to as you already have one to transfer.

Clairebearx

Alexland said:

Cool 1 month to go to deposit a further £2k for another £500 bonus.

Another good point! But would i have to wait until the 25% bonus had cleared into the account before i could transfer the LISA across?

Alexland said:

Remember to open your AJ Bell LISA before your 40th as their software doesn't support opening an account after 40

Oh don't worry, i can already hear the clock ticking down to the big 40.... Unfortunately its not something i can forget 🙄😄

Alexland

No you don't have to wait for the 25% bonus to be added before transferring as the old provider should still claim based on contributions into the old account and then forward the money on to the new provider. Its similar with a S&S ISA transfer when dividends are paid after the main transfer has occured. However it might be neater and require less chasing to wait.

Still there is always the possibility that AJ Bell change their policy, as HL did, to stop accepting new inbound LISA transfer requests.

The market for LISA providers is fairly limited which isn't great when making a 20+ year product commitment.

Clairebearx

Thanks for that. So it'll just be down to my preference...to be neat or to get in there quickly 👌

Dh6

Some excellent advice there, it seems I may be better off transferring my Moneybox LISA @ 1.4% pa over to a SS LISA if I’m going to be I’m using the money to fund retirement. 

Is this something that can be easily done?

many thanks 

Alexland

If you want to transfer to a S&S LISA provider (1) check they offer the investments you want, (2) check their fee structure is reasonable for your anticipated forward activity profile, (3) check they support transfers-in, (4) open an account (they will usually allow you to avoid making an initial payment if it's for a transfer incase it puts you over the annual allowance), (4) complete their transfer request form (providing the details of your old account). They will often ask you to print and sign the form and post it to them.