At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced an extension to the existing Help to Save scheme until April 2027 and plans to expand its eligibility criteria to all working claimants of Universal Credit (UC) from April 2025.

The Government published its response to the 2023 consultation on reforming the Help to Save scheme alongside a further consultation on delivering the reforms. The document can be found here.

The BSA welcomes the Government's ambitions to deliver an enhanced Help to Save scheme and we are wholly supportive of its purpose: to help individuals develop a long-term savings habit and boost the UK's financial resilience. While we support the intent behind the measures outlined in its 2023 response to include all UC claimants earning £1 or more, it is our view that the Government should go further – extending the criteria to include other benefit recipients as well as individuals who do not qualify for benefits but who are on low or no income would have a greater societal impact.

We also believe the mechanics of the scheme could operate more efficiently and be more effective as a result.

Our full response can be found here.