Hundreds of Wigan residents benefit from scheme to help them save

Payments were made based on the money saved

Help To Save accounts encourage people to put aside money each month and pays a bonus based on what they invest

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed that more than 47,000 accounts holders across the UK, including 6,700 in the North West, have benefited from their first bonus payment, two years after opening an account.

They received an average of £375 each, based on the money they had paid into the account themselves.

Further findings in the data reveal that at 14 per cent, savers in the North West were most likely to have received their first payment.

A total of 1,300 Wiganers had opened a Help To Save account by July 2020, according to HMRC.

Karl Khan, HMRC’s director general for customer services, said: “The Government’s Help To Save scheme helps those on lower incomes, who put money aside each month or as and when they can, and add it to their savings account, to earn a 50 per cent bonus on what they invest.

“Thousands of individuals are now reaping the reward and benefitting from an average £375 first bonus payment, paid directly into their bank account.”

Help To Save is a savings scheme which allows eligible people to save up to £50 a month in a secure savings account, which is backed by the Government.

For every £1 they save, they can earn a bonus of 50p, over four years. The 50 per cent bonus is payable at the end of the second and fourth years and is based on how much account holders have saved.

Bonuses have been paid to savers who opened an account between January and September 2018, with anyone who opened accounts after this expected to receive their bonus at the end of the second year.

A total of 47,200 account holders have so far received their first bonus payment and a share of more than £17.6m from HMRC.

Statistics reveal that more than 222,700 Help To Save accounts had been opened by July 2020. In the North West, 30,450 accounts have been opened.

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