Help to Save: How the 50% Bonus Works and Who Can Apply

You can open a Help to Save account if you are receiving Universal Credit and you (with your partner if it is 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.

You also need to be living in the UK. If you get payments as a couple, you and your partner can each apply for your own account, separately. If you stop claiming benefits, you can keep using your account.

You get bonuses at the end of the second and fourth years, based on how much you have saved:

• ✓Yes: After 2 years, a first bonus of 50% of the highest balance you have saved.
• ✓Yes: After 4 years, a final bonus of 50% of the difference between the highest balance in years 1 and 2 and the highest balance in years 3 and 4.

If your highest balance does not increase, you will not earn a final bonus. Your bonus is paid into your bank account, not your Help to Save account, and you get any bonuses you have earned even if you withdraw money.

These worked examples use the scheme's own figures:

You can save between £1 and £50 each calendar month, and you do not have to pay in every month. You can pay in as many times as you like by debit card, standing order or bank transfer, up to £50 in a calendar month. That is £2,400 over 4 years. You can only withdraw money to your bank account.

Your account closes 4 years after you open it, and you keep the money. You cannot reopen it or open another Help to Save account. If you close it early, you miss your next bonus.

If you or your partner have £6,000 or less in personal savings, including your Help to Save account, it will not affect how much Universal Credit or Housing Benefit you get. Your Help to Save bonuses will not affect your Universal Credit or Housing Benefit payments.

You apply online through GOV.UK, signing in or creating sign-in details. You need your National Insurance number or postcode, your UK bank details, and two of these:

• a valid UK passport
• a UK photocard driving licence issued by the DVLA (or DVA in Northern Ireland)
• details of a tax credit claim, if you made one
• details from a Self Assessment tax return in the last 2 years, if you made one
• information held on your credit record, if you have one, such as loans, credit cards or mortgages

The Budget on 28 October 2026 says a reformed Help to Save scheme will be introduced in Spring 2028. It will move to a multi-provider model, offering accounts from a wider range of savings providers, including some with an established high-street presence.

You need to be living in the UK to open an account, and in Northern Ireland a photocard driving licence issued by the DVA counts as one of the identity documents. Our benefits guides cover other help on a low income, and our Universal Credit calculator estimates what you could get.