Money saving guru Martin Lewis has highlighted the story of a fan who followed his advice - and scooped an extra £600 cash direct from the Government. Mr Lewis on his ITV show last night, The Martin Lewis Money Show, urged anyone eligible to sign up for a Help to Save bank account.
Help to Save is a government initiative which aims to assist certain people entitled to Working Tax Credit or receiving Universal Credit to get a bonus of 50p for every £1 they save over four years. Mr Lewis said that it’s definitely a great deal which can give you £600 from the government, YorkshireLive reports.
Martin Lewis showed his viewers the example of a woman who successfully signed up to a Help To Save bank account. The woman, a farmer, said she had been struggling to make ends meet but having opened a Help To Save account, managed to reduce her broadband and mobile phone costs and stuck the £50 a month she saved into the Help To Save account.
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She told Martin’s viewers: “I’ve been paying £50 a month for two years and my account showed £1,200. The government then paid me £600 into my current account. It’s amazing!”
How payments work for Help to Save:
- You can save between £1 and £50 each calendar month. You do not have to pay money in every month.
- You can pay money into your Help to Save account by debit card, standing order or bank transfer.
- You can pay in as many times as you like, but the most you can pay in each calendar month is £50. For example, if you have saved £50 by 8 January you will not be able to pay in again until 1 February.
- You can only withdraw money from your Help to Save account to your bank account.
Who is Eligible?
You can open a Help to Save account if you’re receiving:
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit – and you’re entitled to Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit and you (with your partner if it’s a joint claim) had take-home pay of £658.64 or more in your last monthly assessment period (Your take-home pay is yo pay after deductions (such as tax or National Insurance).
- If you get payments as a couple, you and your partner can apply for your own Help to Save accounts. You need to apply separately.
You also need to be living in the UK.
Martin added: “It’s very important for financial resilience if you can. It’s for people who are on universal credit and low incomes, if you can. Not everyone will qualify but it is worth checking.
“You can put in up to £50 a month over two years. Then, the bonus you get is on the maximum amount you had in. This is really crucial. Imagine you put in £50 a month, and you got up to £600, and then you had an emergency, your window’s broken and you had to pay to have it repaired and all your £600 goes and you can’t afford to put any money in after that.
“At the end of the two years, you still get the bonus on the highest amount you had in. 50% of £600, you’d still get a £300 bonus even if you had nothing in it. The concept is that it allows people on very low incomes to save, but still use the money if they need to.”
He said people can apply via gov.uk and “there is nothing anywhere even as close to as good as those terms” if you’re eligible. You can apply online at the government website here.
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