Dwp universal credit claimants could get £25 a month cash bonus from hmrc

THE HELP TO SAVE SCHEME IS OPEN TO ANYONE WORKING AND RECEIVING UNIVERSAL CREDIT, GIVING PEOPLE A CHANCE TO SAVE MONEY AND EARN A BONUS 08:33, 21 May 2025 Hundreds of thousands of Universal

Credit claimants could get a vital cash boost through a Government scheme. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says more than half a million more people on Universal Credit are in line for bonuses

worth up to £25 a month to boost their savings pots. The Help to Save scheme is now open to anyone working and receiving Universal Credit, giving 550,000 more claimants the opportunity to

save and earn a bonus, worth up to a maximum of £1,200 over four years. Its extension to April 2027 means more people on a low income can benefit from the scheme, which has paid out millions

of pounds in bonuses to more than 500,000 people since Help to Save was launched in 2018. Some 93% of people have paid in the maximum £50 every month to their Help to Save account. An

account can be set up in just a few minutes - you don’t have to deposit any money straight away - and easily managed through GOV.UK or the HMRC app, making it accessible to people throughout

the UK. Savers who deposit the maximum amount of £2,400 over four years will (£50 per month) receive a bonus totalling £1,200 into their bank accounts, with payments coming at the end of

the second and final year, reports the Daily Record. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer services, said: “Thousands of customers have already benefitted from Help to Save and

many more are now eligible to get a great return of 50 per cent on top of their savings, no matter how little you can save each month. Go online or via the HMRC app to find out more and

apply today.” GET ALL THE LATEST MONEY NEWS AND BUDGETING TIPS FROM CHRONICLE LIVE WITH OUR FREE NEWSLETTER Savers can deposit between £1 and £50 each month earning an extra 50 pence for

every £1 saved, with bonuses paid in the second and fourth years of the account being opened. Money can be withdrawn at any time, although this may affect the 50 per cent bonus payments. The

bonus is determined by the highest amount held in the account. Nearly 18,500 people opened a Help to Save account via the HMRC app in 2024. App users can view their account, check their

balance and bonus details, and make a deposit via debit card, bank transfer or standing order. Find out more about Help to Save at GOV.UK. HOW HELP TO SAVE WORKS The Help to Save account is

a state-operated scheme which millions of people on a low income, or claiming Universal Credit, could be eligible to join. For every £1 you put in, you get a 50p bonus over a period of up to

four years. However, you can also take the money out from the account at any time, but there’s a catch - the bonus payout is based on the highest amount of money you put in. Even if you’re

not able to set aside money for savings at the moment, open an account anyway, while you are eligible to do so, because you don't have to put any money in. You can save between £1 and

£50 each calendar month - you don’t have to pay in every month. Payments can be made 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. You can only withdraw money from your Help to Save account to your bank account. You get bonuses at the end of the second and fourth years - these

are based on how much you have saved. For example, if you put £50 in each month for the first two years - a total of £1,200 - your first bonus payment would be for £600, even if you withdraw

it all (but you would need to wait until the 24th month or the bonus payment would be less). Similarly, if you then add £50 for the next two years, you would receive another £600 payment.

This means that in total, you could earn a free £1,200 and if you kept the money in or the whole four years, you would receive an impressive £3,600 when the account closes. Article continues

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