Get help with savings if you’re on a low income (Help to Save)

Financial Chat
1

I know this has been mentioned in passing but I can’t find a topic on it.

Help To Save is a government backed savings product available to a limited number of people (NS&I looking at the sort code).

You can save between £1 and £50 per month for 2 years. At the end of that period you get 50% of that paid as a bonus into your nominated bank account. You can then keep it going for another 2 years and get another 50% bonus on the higest balance above what your highest balance was at the 2 years mark. :money_mouth_face:

Add money by debit card, bank transfer or standing order. You aren’t tied into a set amount every month or even contributing every month if you haven’t got the money. You can also withdraw at any time if you really need to, although it takes 3 working days. If you close your account you cannot open another one.

Eligibility is a bit restricted and you need to be a UK resident

You can open a Help to Save account if you’re any of the following:

  • receiving Working Tax Credit
  • entitled to Working Tax Credit and receiving Child Tax Credit
    -claiming Universal Credit and your household earned £569.22 or more from paid work in your last monthly assessment period

It only takes minutes to set up so it’s worth considering if you are eligible :moneybag:

4 Likes
2

This is a great incentive to save for those who are eligible! :purse:

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3

This looks quite innovative (similarly to the H2B and LISA) however, call me cynical, but what would be the actual achievable gain for someone who is eligible?

If you took the top end you’d end up with £1,600 after the first 2 year period - which is a great sum, but how feasible is saving £600 a year if you are eligible? (Granted this is the best case scenario).

4

£600 a year will be hard for some but even if you just manage £200 over the 2 years that’s still a £100 bonus

Unlike fixed savers you don’t have to commit to a monthly deposit and you can add money more than once a month, as long as you don’t go over the £50

5

Found one to merge with Help to Save

Truly excellent scheme for those eligible (onboarded 2 relatives during trial period) and needs as much press and coverage as other popular government schemes such as Help to Buy.

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