Martin Lewis issues urgent ISA allowance warning after Chancellor’s autumn budget

Martin Lewis has issued a warning to savers with ISA accounts following Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement.

The Money Saving Expert founder wrote on X, formerly Twitter, savers will still be fined by the government if they use their Lifetime Isa’s to buy a house worth more than £450,000.

This is despite placing pressure on the chancellor to raise the house price limit on a Lifetime Isa to keep up with house prices.

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He said he hoped this would change in Mr Hunt’s autumn statement today.

‘Damn. Our lifetime ISA campaign has failed,’ he wrote online.

‘No change to the fact people using it to buy house over £450,000 due to the house price rise, will still be fined by the government and have less money than they started with.’

Average house prices in some parts of the UK now exceed the £450,000 limit.

This has lead to some savers being penalised when they withdraw this money to buy a home.

Although it was rumoured this rule could be scrapped in today’s autumn budget, Mr Hunt made no mention of the saving scheme.

But the chancellor did introduce some measures which are set to come into force in April 2024.

This includes scrapping the single Isa limit, allowing savers to open and pay into multiple accounts in a single year without losing their £20,000 allowance.

Partial transfers have also been allowed, meaning parts of one account can be transferred into anoter.

Savers no longer need to reapply for an Isa each year if it is lying dormant, and the minimum opening age for an account will be 18 across the board.

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