Martin Lewis urges everyone born between these years to put £1 in account | Personal Finance | Finance

Money expert Martin Lewis is urging people born in these years to put £1 in an account right now.

The finance guru is uring anyone aged between the ages of 18 and 40, so born between September 20, 1984 and September 20, 1986 to put £1 in an account right now in order to qualify for an instant £1,000 bonus.

What many don’t realise is that there’s a government backed savings scheme called a Lifetime ISA (LISA) that helps people to buy a house up to the value of £450,000 – and if you don’t even end up buying a house, you can withdraw the money when you turn 60 and use it for retirement instead.

Martin says that anyone under the age of 40, or who has children over the age of 18, must put £1 in a LISA now in order to have the option of getting a free £1,000 from the government.

Talking on the latest instalment of his The Martin Lewis Podcast on BBC Sounds, Spotify and Apple Music, Martin said: “Let me be very plain to anybody listening, anybody who has never bought a home, is aged under 40, and this includes anyone who has children aged over 18.

“I would 100% recommend that you put £1 in a LISA now.

“The reason I say this, is the lifetime ISA, to get the bonus as a first time buyer, you have to have had the product open for a year or you can’t get the bonus.

“So by putting a pound in now, even if you don’t use it, even if you don’t intend to use it, you’ve got the clock ticking.

“So that if in a year’s time you think ‘I’m gonna buy a house and it’s only £440,000, you’ve got your £1 in a lifetime ISA, you add £4,000 and the next day you’re eligible for the £1,000 bonus.

“You might say to me, what happens if I never buy a house? There’s a 6.25 percent penalty, so you lose 6 and a quarter pence. I would say that’s a decent risk, to lose 6 and a quarter pence to have the opportunity to gain £1,000 if you need it.

“So before we go anywhere I would definitely open a LISA for £1.”