Government being urged to delay Lifetime ISA launch

19 Aug 2016

Pension providers and banks are urging the Government to delay the April 2017 launch of the new Lifetime ISA, warning that they will not be ready to offer the savings product by this time.

The Lifetime ISA was announced in the 2016 Budget by the former Chancellor, George Osborne.

It will offer Government-backed support to first-time home buyers and seeks to encourage those aged under 40 to begin saving for retirement.

Pension providers Aegon and Standard Life have stated that they have delayed their plans until final details regarding the Lifetime ISA are released.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is yet to consult on the initiative. Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon, stated that a consultation is ‘likely to take three months’ to carry out. 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Standard Life said: ‘As we want the Lifetime ISA to be a success, we would prefer that its launch is delayed until providers receive more detail on the product and how it is to be implemented.’

The Treasury said that full details would be confirmed in the autumn.