Help To Save question

I realise this wouldn't exactly be the best way to take advantage of such an amazing interest rate, BUT the reality is i'm not in a position to be able to save money at the moment.

So, worst case scenario I open an account and put £100 in there (£50 for two months) and withdraw it shortly after...would I still get the bonus in two years?

It should be £50 I believe, as that would be 50% of the highest amount the account reached?

Like I said I know this isn't exactly taking advantage of the scheme, but the way I see it is in two years when I would have forgotten about it I will get a random payment of £50.00 for absoloutely nothing.

Just wondering whether this would work, and if the account goes to £0.00 will it automatically close or would I have to leave something in?

I know you might suggest just put a tenner in each month but the danger with this is I would probably have to withdraw it all before the 2 years anyway.

Comments

  • Neil_Jones
    Neil_Jones Posts: 8,868
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    You get the bonus based on the highest amount of money in the account since it opened two years previously. The account does not close if you withdraw the lot, it will auto close after four years anyway. Once it closes you can't get another one so use this while you can.

    In an ideal world you should where possible feed it £50 which you can then withdraw at a later date to maximise the available bonus. Note that withdrawals can take up to three days and don't use faster payments.
  • Im saving £50 per month so looking forward to my first bnus in 18 months or so - nice free money.
    I enjoy flower arranging, kittens, devil worship, the study of serial killers and their methods and road kill jigsaws.
  • I'm trying to devise a tactic to maximise my return but being wary about the possibility I may have to make withdrawals at some stage. Two years/Four years is a long time but it is an amazing deal so you can't complain whatsoever. And at least you can trust it 100% as it's a government scheme.
  • evenasus
    evenasus Posts: 11,861
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    edited 20 February 2019 at 10:26PM
    Dotty12 wrote: »
    I realise this wouldn't exactly be the best way to take advantage of such an amazing interest rate, BUT the reality is i'm not in a position to be able to save money at the moment.

    So, worst case scenario I open an account and put £100 in there (£50 for two months) and withdraw it shortly after...would I still get the bonus in two years?

    It should be £50 I believe, as that would be 50% of the highest amount the account reached?

    I don't think it works like that.

    https://www.gov.uk/get-help-savings-low-income/what-youll-get
    Example
    You pay in £25 every calendar month for 2 years. You do not withdraw any money. Your highest balance will be £600. Your first bonus is £300, which is 50% of £600.

    In years 3 and 4 you save an extra £200 to grow your highest balance from £600 to £800. Your final bonus is £100, which is 50% of £200. Even though you withdrew some money after your balance was £800, this does not affect your bonus.

    What happens if you withdraw money
    If you withdraw money it will be harder for you to:

    grow your highest balance
    earn the largest possible bonuses
    Withdrawing money could mean you are not able to earn a final bonus - depending on how much you withdraw and when.
  • thor
    thor Posts: 5,483
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    evenasus wrote: »
    I think it does for the first bonus which is the scenario I believe the op was asking about. You'll get 50% of the highest balance in the first 2 years. In years 3 and 4 it gets more complicated.
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