Help to buy @1.25% or Save @4%? 23 January at 7:26PM in ISAs & tax-free savings 2 replies 111 views

KO_Dub

I don't THINK I'm going to buy a house in foreseeable future, but have £12k (Coz Gov max top up is £3k) in a help to buy ISA built up over time, currently giving me 1.25% interest. Over £12k only gives me a tiny % interest so no point exceeding £12k anyway.
Am I right in saying 2029 is the last year the government will pay out the 25% top up amount? By my calculation if I reinvested the full amount in a 4% return account it'd take about 7 years to get the return I would get with my help to buy, assuming I buy a property and receive the 25%.
I don't have much excess money to save on a monthly basis but do add £240pm to a stocks & shares ISA, which really isn't giving me any returns of note at the moment! I know the 4% savings rate example isn't keeping up with inflation but at least it's guaranteed. 
Would love to hear people's advice on what to do with these money's. I'd hope to finish working in about 12 years all being well.

eskbanker

KO_Dub said:

Am I right in saying 2029 is the last year the government will pay out the 25% top up amount?

Not quite:

You can pay into the ISA until November 2029. You can claim the 25% bonus until November 2030.

https://www.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa

In terms of what's sensible, it'll help to narrow down your options a bit, if you're unlikely to buy a property in the foreseeable future (how long do you consider that to be?) but are also hoping to finish working in 12 years, in terms of whether it may make more sense to consider investing this money, within a pension or other wrapper, for example.  How old are you, what are the rest of your financial circumstances, etc?

Aidanmc

HSBC H2B ISA pays 2.25% interest up to 12k but you need to be an existing customer. May be worth transferring if you intend to keep the H2B Isa