Savings LISA or S&S LISA?

kenzie123

Hello

I would like to open a LISA this month ahead of the new tax year starting - but am unsure which to go with - a normal savings LISA or a S&S one.
I am already a homeowner so the savings would not be used for a first home purchase. I see these savings as a long haul fund, only taken out once I reach 60. 
I think I could probably put in the max. £4000 a year in, and hope not to touch it until I'm 60.
I know the S&S are risky but as it's long time maybe the better way to go?

My main questions are:
Are there fees for a normal LISA? I know there are fees for an S&S LISA. 
Can you open both a LISA and S&S LISA providing you don't put in money in the same tax year?
Which is the best LISA provider? I was looking at Moneybox, Nutmeg or Fidelity.
If I'm hoping to steadily save, which type of LISA is the best one to go with? Stocks and Shares or normal?
Can you have a normal ISA as well as a LISA and contribute to both or just one?

I'd appreciate any help with this as I'm aware time is ticking into March

Thank you 

grumiofoundation

If for retirement then stocks and shares will be more suitable. Theres no real reason to hold cash in a LISA if you aren't saving for retirement as you have to pay a penalty to access it. 

The risks of investing in stocks and shares goes down dramatically in the long term  (see link - Note not recommending nutmeg!). 
https://www.nutmeg.com/nutmegonomics/increasing-your-chances-of-positive-portfolio-returns-the-facts-about-long-term-investing/

You can only contribute to one LISA each tax-year, personally I don't really see any reason to hold more than one.

Fidelity does not offer a lifetime ISA (unless they have very recently announced one!). AJ Bell is probably the cheapest and 'best' option available. 

Are you a higher rate tax payer? If so paying enough into a pension to avoid paying higher rate tax will be more tax efficient. 

eskbanker

Probably best to start by ensuring accurate terminology - there are cash LISAs and S&S LISAs, and, as they're subtypes within the main Lifetime ISA type, you can only pay into one or the other but not both in the same tax year.  However, you can pay into a LISA and also a non-Lifetime ISA, such as cash ISA or S&S ISA.

If you're looking at a LISA for retirement money then it'll be the S&S version you should be targeting, as leaving long-term money in cash is almost guaranteed to lose real-terms value to inflation.  In terms of which S&S LISA provider to choose, it'll be worth deciding specifically what you'd be looking to invest in, as the investment offerings through Nutmeg, for example, are very limited.  Once you've assessed what specific investments you're interested in, then pick a platform after that, which is where you'd typically consider fees - there are comparisons available at the likes of https://moneytothemasses.com/saving-for-your-future/compare-the-best-and-cheapest-lifetime-isa#title-anchor-15

Albermarle

I know the S&S are risky but as it's long time maybe the better way to go

As explained above , if you hold investments for the long term , the risk is minimal.

What the investments will be though is volatile in the short to medium term , which is not quite the same .

In simple terms they will go up and down in the short to medium term, but long term the trend is up. Golden rule is to not panic when they go  down and withdraw the money . Just stick with it and keep investing regularly even if it is all doom and gloom in the news ( it always is anyway )

When you start to choose what to invest in within the S&S LISA, you will see that funds are often labelled low risk/ cautious or maybe high risk/adventurous or in the middle medium risk/balanced etc Really it would be more accurate to substitute 'volatile ' for 'risk' as long as you hold for the longer term , means > 10 years.

As presumably you are looking at a time scale in excess of 20 years it makes sense to go to the higher risk/volatility end of the spectrum as these are much more likely to provide good growth.

Also you should not look at funds with high charges . Better to be in the 0.2% to 0.4% area .