Martin Lewis reveals how to get 50% in interest with specific bank account – are you missing out on free cash? | The Sun
MARTIN Lewis' MoneySavingExpert.com has revealed how to get a 50% boost with a specific bank account.
Households on Universal Credit and Tax Credits can make the free cash by signing up for a Help to Save account.
They offer you 50p back for £1 you put in up to a maximum of four years.
If you put the maximum allowance in over those four years you earn a £1,200 bonus.
The MoneySavingExpert.com's latest newsletter explained how you can get the boost by signing up for one.
It said: "There are a few specialist savings options some can take which pay more.
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"Are you on Universal Credit or Tax Credits?
"You may be eligible for an unbeatable 50% Help to Save bonus."
How does the Help to Save scheme work?
Anyone signing up to a Help to Save account gets a 50p bonus for every £1 they put in over four years.
You can save up to a maximum of £50 each month, which offers you a £25 bonus.
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That adds up to £300 in a year and up to £1,200 over the four years holding the account.
Bonuses are handed out at the end of the second and fourth years.
You don't have to pay into the account every month if you can't, or don't want to, you can just add a few pounds.
You can also withdraw money whenever you like, although this will obviously impact the bonus you receive.
You can add money to the account through a debit card, standing order or bank transfer.
The account will automatically close four years after you open it, and once you've signed up for one you can't apply for another.
Who is eligible?
You can open a Help to Save account if you are on certain benefits, including:
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Universal Credit and you – with your partner if it’s a joint claim – earned £722.45 or more from paid work in your last monthly assessment period
If you get payments as a couple, you and your partner can apply for your own Help to Save accounts and will need to apply individually.
In most cases you will need to be living in the UK, except for a crown servant or their spouse or civil partner or member of the British armed forces or their spouse or civil partner.
One major perk is that you can keep your Help to Save account even if you stop claiming benefits during the four years it's open.
If you or your partner have £6,000 or less in personal savings, including in your Help to Save account, your Universal Credit allowance is not affected.
How to apply
You can apply online for an account through the Government website.
You need a Government Gateway user ID and password to open an account, which you can create one as part of your application if you don’t already have one.
You’ll be asked for your UK bank details so make sure you have them to hand.
How else can I boost my savings?
It's not just through a Help to Save account that you can boost your interest.
If you're a prospective first-time home buyer and aged 18 to 39, you can up your savings with a Lifetime ISA (LISA).
You can save £4,000 a year into one of the accounts and the Government adds a 25% bonus on top.
So if you add the full £4,000 you get a £1,000 bonus.
But you have to spend the money on a first home or later down the line for retirement otherwise you pay a penalty.
Meanwhile, you can set up a Cash ISA, so long as you are 16 or over and can deposit a maximum of £20,000 into one every tax year.
There are different types of Cash ISAs offering different perks.
For example, easy-access ISAs let you add money which can be taken out at any time without charge.
There's also fixed-rate ISAs which tend to offer higher interest rates than easy-access ISAs, but you usually have to pay a fee for withdrawing money before the end of the term.
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You can always go for a regular savings account too and earn up to 9% interest every year.
They can be useful accounts if you save little and often, but can sometimes impose restrictive terms and conditions, such as limiting the amount of withdrawals you can make.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.
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