Help to Save and Covid 19

freccles

In view of the fact that the Help to Save Scheme is for low earners, is there going to be any extension to the time period?  On 80% of our wages, neither my daughter nor myself can afford the £50 we normally pay in by DD but since the scheme started we have never missed a payment and got our first bonus. We have really tried hard to save  in this scheme and it will be such a shame if we lose all the benefits

bowlhead99

There hasn't been any announcement that it would be extended. You won't lose 'all the benefits' because if you keep it open (but not paying the maximum allowed £50) you will still get free bonus money on what you do put in. 

On the bright side, it sounds like you're both getting paid 80% of your wages without having to go to work, right?

6022tivo

80% of your wages free from the Government beats any Help to Save scheme. 
It's not something I would worry about. 

port_of_spain

bowlhead99 said:

On the bright side, it sounds like you're both getting paid 80% of your wages without having to go to work, right?

Sounds like a good deal, if you're on a decent wage to start with. Not so good if you're on a low wage, on which you might be struggling to cover basic necessities. (The OP and their daughter's finances must have been more viable than many lower earners', since they were managing to pay into Help to Save before this.)

YellowStarling

port_of_spain said:

bowlhead99 said:

On the bright side, it sounds like you're both getting paid 80% of your wages without having to go to work, right?

Sounds like a good deal, if you're on a decent wage to start with. Not so good if you're on a low wage, on which you might be struggling to cover basic necessities. (The OP and their daughter's finances must have been more viable than many lower earners', since they were managing to pay into Help to Save before this.)

To add to the balance here too, it is not completely known if the 80% is from the JRS (furlough) or whether the OP and their daughter have simply had their work contracts temporarily reduced by 20% in anticipation of a reduction in workload.  That is what many of my colleagues have had occur to them, as well as some moving onto the JRS.  Hourly rate remains unchanged, but the OP and daughter may still be working and not receiving 80% of their wages for 'free'.

Secondly, working from home (if that is what the OP and daughter have had to do; they may still be working outside of home) or being furloughed may increase their household costs - I've seen many reporting higher than 'normal' food and electricity costs, maybe phone data charges if no broadband/WiFi.  

In response to the OP question, bowlhead covered it.

karmel27

Hi, before covid19 I was on tax credits and self employed, due to not being able to work universal credit cancelled my claim for tax credits insisting that all claims changing over and I needed to, I’m half way through the saving scheme and saved religiously the 50.00 a month to be told by universal credit I don’t meet their criteria now for it, wondering if anyone else had this situation and what can be done...

Ed-1

karmel27 said:

Hi, before covid19 I was on tax credits and self employed, due to not being able to work universal credit cancelled my claim for tax credits insisting that all claims changing over and I needed to, I’m half way through the saving scheme and saved religiously the 50.00 a month to be told by universal credit I don’t meet their criteria now for it, wondering if anyone else had this situation and what can be done...

Regarding Help to Save, you have to be meet the criteria to open it, but after that it doesn't matter.