Millions of working Universal Credit claimants may be eligible for a bonus of up to £1,200 through the Help to Save scheme. The UK Government-backed savings account offers a 50p bonus for every £1 saved over four years, and an eligibility rule change last year means more people can join before it closes to new users in April 2027.
Eligibility and scheme details
You can open a Help to Save account if you're receiving Universal Credit and you (with your partner, if it's a joint claim) had take-home pay of £1 or more in your last monthly assessment period. Take-home pay is your pay after deductions such as tax or National Insurance.
The scheme has paid out millions of pounds in bonuses to more than 500,000 people since it launched in 2018. Some 93 per cent of users have paid in the maximum £50 every month. In Scotland, 36,050 people have paid in a total of £33,584,000 since September 2018.
How payments and bonuses work
You can save between £1 and £50 each calendar month, with payments made by debit card, standing order or bank transfer. Bonuses are paid at the end of the second and fourth years, based on how much you have saved. For example, saving £50 per month for the first two years (£1,200 total) earns a £600 bonus, and doing the same for the next two years earns another £600 – a total of £1,200.
If you keep the money in for the whole four years, you could receive £3,600 when the account closes. Your account will close four years after opening, and you cannot reopen it or open another one. You can withdraw money at any time, but this may affect the bonus.
Impact on benefits and next steps
Saving through Help to Save could affect eligibility for certain benefits, but if you or your partner have £6,000 or less in personal savings, it will not affect Universal Credit or Housing Benefit payments. Help to Save bonuses also do not affect these payments.
An account can be set up in minutes with no initial deposit, and managed through GOV.UK or the HMRC app. For more information and to set up an account, visit GOV.UK.
