Millions of people on Universal Credit missing out on £1,200 free money through Help to Save scheme
For every £1 you save, the Government will top up your savings by 50p on sums of up to £2,400
MILLIONS of hard-up Brits on Universal Credit are missing out on up to £1,200 free cash by not taking advantage of a Government saving account.
The Help to Save scheme was launched in September 2018 to help those on a lower income build a small nest-egg by boosting savings by 50 per cent.
The accounts are available to working people on tax credits and Universal Credit but millions are still missing out.
For every £1 you save in the account, the Government will top it up by 50p.
If you put in the maximum of £2,400, your cash will be boosted by £1,200 bringing your total savings up to £3,600.
Around 3.5million working Brits claim benefits to help stretch their income, according to the Department of Work and Pensions, but so far only 80,000 eligible people have opened an account.
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You can make a withdrawal without being penalised but you won't get paid until the end of every second year.
The bonus is paid on the highest amount you had in the account during the two years even if you've had to make a withdrawal.
It's just one of the savings schemes run by the Government - first-time buyers can also take advantage of the Help to Buy Isa which sees the Government boost savings by 25 per cent on sums up to £1,200.
But you'll need to open an account soon because the Help to Buy Isa is due to be scrapped at the end of the year.
It's being replaced by the Lifetime Isa which offers anyone over the age of 18 the chance to save tax-free and get a free Government bonus of up to £32,000 to use towards their first home, or retirement.
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