Help to Save scheme expected to be expanded and made permanent from 2028

A savings scheme helping low earners to build a financial buffer is set to be made permanent from 2028.

As the Budget looms on Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce that the Help to Save scheme, which was set to end in 2027, will be made permanent and opened up to parents and carers on universal credit from 2028.

Help to Save is a type of savings account which allows certain people receiving universal credit to get a bonus to boost their pot.

The scheme allows eligible savers to put away up to £2,400 over four years which is bolstered by a £1,200 government bonus.

A Treasury source said the Chancellor wants to “help millions more working people build a savings habit”.

Help to Save allows savers to put up to £50 a month into a Help to Save account, for four years, and receive a 50% government bonus on the savings they put in.

People can save between £1 and £50 each calendar month and they do not have to pay money in every month.

Bonuses are paid on the highest amount deposited by the end of the second and fourth years, with savers able to deposit a maximum of £2,400 and receive £1,200 in bonuses.

The scheme has already benefited more than 500,000 savers.

It is set to be expanded to an extra 1.5 million potential savers, to include universal credit claimants who have children in education or carers who provide 35 hours of care to a disabled person to help them with the cost of living.