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LISA bonus not added before account closed

Hi,
I've made a deposit to my LISA in February.
As I'm buying a house, the solicitor requested a withdrawal of all funds (and the account to be closed).
The bank's website says it will take up to 7 weeks to add the bonus but by then, the account will be closed.
What will happen to the bonus?
Thanks!

Comments

  • Mark_d
    Mark_d Posts: 1,956 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    I think this is a question for the bank
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 35,333 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Yorkie006 said:
    I've made a deposit to my LISA in February.
    As I'm buying a house, the solicitor requested a withdrawal of all funds (and the account to be closed).
    The bank's website says it will take up to 7 weeks to add the bonus but by then, the account will be closed.
    What will happen to the bonus?
    The account shouldn't be closed, but should be left open (even if empty) to receive the bonus:

    Where an investor withdraws all the funds in their Lifetime ISA after the 30 day period, they need to be aware that they may need to keep their Lifetime ISA account open to accept further payments.

    These may include:

    • unclaimed and unpaid bonus amounts at the time of the withdrawal
    • funds being returned to the Lifetime ISA following the failure of a first time residential purchase

    You can offer the investor the opportunity to keep their Lifetime ISA open with a nil balance, or alternatively have a process that enables a closed Lifetime ISA to be reinstated.

    https://www.gov.uk/guidance/close-a-lifetime-isa-if-youre-a-lifetime-isa-manager
  • Yorkie006
    Yorkie006 Posts: 250 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Hi,
    the LISA money has been paid to the solicitor (without the bonus for February deposit) and the account was closed at the same time. They produced a final statement and the account is 'closed' in online banking too.
    Still trying to find out how to get the bonus as we're completing next week - I sent them a secure message but no idea how long they'll take to respond or if the bonus will be paid before completion...
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 25,566 Forumite
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    edited 13 March 2024 am31 6:36AM
    Then you will have a couple of options:
    - Reinstate the LISA and have the bonus paid into it to use towards your retirement.
    - Receive the bonus to an external account after deduction of the 25% penalty to use as you wish.
    It is very unlikely that your solicitor could get an additional withdrawal request processed in time should the bonus money turn up between now and completion.
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 45,426 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Where an investor withdraws all the funds in their Lifetime ISA after the 30 day period, they need to be aware that they may need to keep their Lifetime ISA account open to accept further payments.

    If it was incumbent upon the  bank (LISA manager) to make the investor aware and  there was a failure in this respect, then the OP might wish to make a formal complaint and request for compensation for the loss.

  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 35,333 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Yorkie006 said:
    Still trying to find out how to get the bonus as we're completing next week - I sent them a secure message but no idea how long they'll take to respond or if the bonus will be paid before completion...
    If the deposit was made to the LISA on or after 6 February, then the resultant bonus is unlikely to be paid until at least the end of this month - the process revolves around monthly claim periods, so all deposits made between 6 February and 5 March will result in a claim by the LISA manager within 14 days of the end of that period (i.e. by next Tuesday), and the payments themselves follow up to 14 days after that.  You should be able to see the timeframe between deposit and bonus from previous transactions with your provider....
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