Following consultation, legislation for the help-to-save scheme is now contained in the Savings (Government Contributions) Bill, published on 6 September 2016, alongside provisions for the lifetime ISA. The government expects to introduce help-to-save in April 2018.
Following consultation, legislation for the help-to-save scheme is now contained in the Savings (Government Contributions) Bill, published on 6 September 2016, alongside provisions for the lifetime ISA. The government expects to introduce help-to-save in April 2018.
Help-to-save will be open to working people in receipt of universal credit, who have minimum weekly household earnings equivalent to 16 hours at the national living wage, or who receive working tax credit. The government will provide a 50% bonus payment on up to £50 of monthly savings into a help-to-save account. The bonus will be paid after two years, with savers able to continue saving for a further two years, meaning that people can save up to £2,400 and receive government bonuses worth up to £1,200.
HM Treasury has published a summary of responses to its consultation on the detailed design of the scheme. This confirms the following features of the scheme now contained in the Bill:
National Savings and Investments (NS&I) will act as the single provider of help-to-save accounts;
the government bonus will be calculated on the basis of the highest balance achieved by savers (an individual who has made a withdrawal would need to exceed their previous balance before they could start accruing an additional bonus);
help-to-save accounts will automatically roll over into a second two-year term to encourage continued saving (meaning that bonuses will be paid on the highest balance after two years and when accounts mature after four years);
on maturity after four years, account balances will be rolled automatically into successor accounts;
eligibility for help-to-save will not be restricted by existing savings; and
savers will not be allowed to make payments in excess of the monthly £50 limit (for example, where a previous monthly allowance is not used).
The government will continue to explore options for the involvement of intermediaries and the credit union sector between now and the introduction of the scheme in April 2018.
Following consultation, legislation for the help-to-save scheme is now contained in the Savings (Government Contributions) Bill, published on 6 September 2016, alongside provisions for the lifetime ISA. The government expects to introduce help-to-save in April 2018.
Following consultation, legislation for the help-to-save scheme is now contained in the Savings (Government Contributions) Bill, published on 6 September 2016, alongside provisions for the lifetime ISA. The government expects to introduce help-to-save in April 2018.
Help-to-save will be open to working people in receipt of universal credit, who have minimum weekly household earnings equivalent to 16 hours at the national living wage, or who receive working tax credit. The government will provide a 50% bonus payment on up to £50 of monthly savings into a help-to-save account. The bonus will be paid after two years, with savers able to continue saving for a further two years, meaning that people can save up to £2,400 and receive government bonuses worth up to £1,200.
HM Treasury has published a summary of responses to its consultation on the detailed design of the scheme. This confirms the following features of the scheme now contained in the Bill:
National Savings and Investments (NS&I) will act as the single provider of help-to-save accounts;
the government bonus will be calculated on the basis of the highest balance achieved by savers (an individual who has made a withdrawal would need to exceed their previous balance before they could start accruing an additional bonus);
help-to-save accounts will automatically roll over into a second two-year term to encourage continued saving (meaning that bonuses will be paid on the highest balance after two years and when accounts mature after four years);
on maturity after four years, account balances will be rolled automatically into successor accounts;
eligibility for help-to-save will not be restricted by existing savings; and
savers will not be allowed to make payments in excess of the monthly £50 limit (for example, where a previous monthly allowance is not used).
The government will continue to explore options for the involvement of intermediaries and the credit union sector between now and the introduction of the scheme in April 2018.
