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What are lifetime ISAs?

Lifetime ISAs are Individual Savings Accounts that help people either buy their first home or save for retirement. The government tops up lifetime ISAs by 25%, so every time you pay in, the government does too. For example, if you pay in £100, it will give you an extra £25 on top.

You can invest up to £4,000 in your lifetime ISA each tax year, so there's £1,000 of government bonus available each year.

As with all ISAs, lifetime ISAs are tax-exempt. This means that no matter how much your investments grow by, you won't pay any tax on the money you withdraw.

You can open a OneFamily Lifetime ISA with a minimum £25 a month direct debit or a lump sum of at least £250. We charge an Annual Management Charge of 1.1% of the account value.

Our Lifetime ISA invests in stocks and shares, therefore it has good potential to grow over the long-term but the value can go down as well as up.

lifetime-isa-government-bonus

Our big 50th anniversary giveaway!

To celebrate us turning 50, if you take out a OneFamily Lifetime ISA between 1 May and 31 May 2025 we’ll enter you in a prize draw to win one of 50 £50 John Lewis gift cards!

Open a Lifetime ISA

Find out more about our giveaway

Lifetime ISA rules apply. Capital at risk
Terms and Conditions apply.

Our big 50th anniversary giveaway!

To celebrate us turning 50, if you take out a OneFamily Lifetime ISA between 1 May and 31 May 2025 we’ll enter you in a prize draw to win one of 50 £50 John Lewis gift cards!

Open a Lifetime ISA

Find out more about our giveaway

Lifetime ISA rules apply. Capital at risk
Terms and Conditions apply.

What are the lifetime ISA rules?

There are a few rules to be aware of:

  • You must be aged between 18 and 39 and be a UK resident to take out a lifetime ISA
  • You can invest up to £4,000 each tax year (tax year starts in April)
  • You must keep the money invested for at least 12 months to avoid paying a withdrawal penalty charge
  • You must use the money you invest to buy your first home or leave it invested until you turn 60 to avoid paying a withdrawal penalty charge

Things to be aware of

The money you put in our Lifetime ISA is invested in stocks and shares. This means there's good potential for it to grow over the long-term, but there is a risk that the value could go down.

Lifetime ISA rules and risksThe alternative is a cash lifetime ISA which earns interest like a current account does.

There is also a penalty charge for taking your money out within 12 months or not using it for your first home or for retirement. This is known as the government withdrawal charge, see below for details.

See what your lifetime ISA could be worth

Choose how much you want to pay into your lifetime ISA and see how much your money could grow 

This projection shows how your lifetime ISA could grow with low, medium and high performance. Remember, projections are not a guarantee of future performance and you could get back less than you pay in.

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£
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Lower performance

After years
You've invested
Government bonus

Projected value

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Higher performance

What do these numbers mean?

Please note: No more than £4,000 may be invested into a Lifetime ISA within a single tax year. This includes your initial investment and your monthly direct debit payments.

What is the lifetime ISA government withdrawal charge?

The government will charge you 25% of everything you withdraw if you:

  • Take your money out within 12 months of opening the lifetime ISA
  • Use the money for something other than your first home
    (unless you've turned 60, when you can do what you like)

This means you'll be charged 25% of the money you saved yourself plus the money the government put in. For example, if you put in £1,000 then the government will have added £250. If you withdraw the lot, your penalty would be 25% of £1,250, which is £312.50, leaving you with just £937.50.

Therefore, if you’re not intending to buy your first home with the money or keep it in the account until you turn 60, you might be best opening an ISA instead.

Why invest in a OneFamily Lifetime ISA? 

There are a few things that really set us apart from other lifetime ISA providers. Here's just some of the reasons to choose OneFamily.

  • We give you a simple choice of just two types of fund when you open your Lifetime ISA. You don't even have to stay in the same one, you can switch to the other at any time for free
  • If you choose to put your money in our Global Equity Fund, up to 100% will be invested in a way that encourages companies to work towards becoming more climate-conscious. If you choose Global Mixed, up to 35% of your money will be invested this way, while the rest will be invested in lower-risk, fixed-interest assets
  • We charge just one fee for managing your Lifetime ISA, which is a 1.1% annual management charge
  • Our Inspiring Better Futures vision is driven by doing the right thing for our members and customers, colleagues, and communities. Putting our members first, thinking about their needs and improving the financial wellbeing of those who need it most is firmly built into our values. Through our charity partnerships, volunteering and fundraising we’re able make a difference to those who need it most - staying true to our mutual ethos of supporting local causes
Trustpilot

How to open a lifetime ISA with us

  • 1

    Choose a fund

    Discover how each fund works and choose the right one for you

  • 2

    Apply online

    Our simple application process shouldn't take longer then 10 minutes

  • 3

    Manage your investments

    Keep track of your Lifetime ISA's performance via your online account

  • 4

    Buy your first home

    Use your Lifetime ISA towards your first home deposit

Choose a fund

Choose which of our two funds you'd like to invest your money in. Once your Lifetime ISA is open, you can switch between funds at any time, free of charge.

Climate-focused investment option

Global Equity

For more adventurous long-term investors

Global Equity invests in company shares.

When deciding which shares to buy, Global Equity takes into account how sustainable companies' business models are and what they're doing to lessen their negative impact on the environment.

Annual Management Charge 1.1%

Risk rating

Lower Higher

You can find out more about Global Equity in our Key Information Document and Fund Factsheet

Despite having an investment focus on the climate, we've chosen not to apply a UK Sustainable Investment Label* for this fund. Find out why below.

Global Mixed

For more cautious long-term investors

Global Mixed invests at least 65% of your money into lower risk, fixed-interest assets, which makes this fund a more cautious investment option compared to Global Equity. This element of the fund doesn’t use Global Equity's climate-focused criteria.

Up to 35% of this fund invests in climate-focused company shares via the Global Equity fund.

Annual Management Charge 1.1%

Risk rating

Lower Higher

You can find out more about Global Mixed in our Key Information Document and Fund Factsheet

Ready to get started?

Open a Lifetime ISA

How will your money be invested?

Global Equity

Global Equity invests in company shares. The value of those shares changes as those companies make or lose money.

When selecting where to invest, Global Equity selects companies from the MSCI Index based on how likely they are to make money, as well as their climate credentials:

You can find out more about the systematic approach Global Equity uses when selecting company shares here: 'How we invest for a brighter future'.

Global Mixed

Up to 35% of Global Mixed is also invested in company shares using the same selection criteria as Global Equity.

The rest is invested in lower risk, fixed interest assets, which aren't chosen using a climate scoring system.

This could mean some investments are included that would have been filtered out of the Global Equity fund.

The fixed-interest assets reduce the risk of losing money when you invest in this fund but also limit how much the fund can make.

Pie chart showing that 65% of Global Equity is invested in fixed-interest assets and 35% is invested in company shares

*UK Sustainable Investment Labels

"Sustainable Investment Labels" have been introduced to help investors find products that have a specific sustainability goal, although not every fund that uses sustainable criteria qualifies for these labels. Because the way Global Equity invests doesn't exactly align with the definition used for these labels, this product doesn't have a UK Sustainable Investment label.

More information on sustainability labels, and a reminder of how Global Equity targets sustainable environmental outcomes, can be found in our sustainability disclosure document.

Find out about UK Sustainable Investment Labels on the Financial Conduct Authority website.

Start saving - open or transfer to a Lifetime ISA online today

Open a Lifetime ISA

Transfer to our Lifetime ISA

If you want to open a OneFamily Lifetime ISA by phone, call 0800 028 1112*

Got a OneFamily Child Trust Fund? Log into your account

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Find out more about lifetime ISAs

Get all the information you need to feel fully informed when investing in your future.

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Transfer to our Lifetime ISA

You can transfer an ISA or Child Trust Fund held with another provider to our Lifetime ISA.

Transfer a Lifetime ISA

Lifetime ISA FAQs

Got a question about Lifetime ISAs? Browse our frequently asked questions to get the answers you need.

View Lifetime ISA FAQs

Help to Buy ISA vs Lifetime ISA

If you already have a Help to Buy ISA, find out if transferring to a lifetime ISA might be the right option for you.

Differences between help to buy ISAs and lifetime ISAs

Are there any Lifetime ISA charges?

There are always some underlying charges when investing in stocks and shares. Learn about our fees.

Lifetime ISA fees and charges