The Help-to-Save Accounts Regulations 2025

Published: Wed 12th Mar 25

The 2025 regulations amended the 2018 Help-to-Save Accounts Regulations by adjusting eligibility criteria for Universal Credit claimants and removing a reference to the national living wage.

The Help-To-Save Accounts Regulations 2025 amend the 2018 regulations governing Help-to-Save accounts.

Key changes include lowering the minimum earned income requirement for Universal Credit claimants to £1 and removing the reference to the national living wage in eligibility criteria.

The amendments aim to simplify eligibility and broaden access to the savings scheme for low-income individuals.

Arguments For

Improved Clarity and Simplicity: The amendments simplify the eligibility criteria for Help-to-Save accounts, making them easier to understand and apply for Universal Credit claimants.
Increased Accessibility: Lowering the minimum earned income threshold to £1 ensures a broader range of Universal Credit recipients meet the eligibility requirements and may benefit from the savings scheme.
Removal of outdated criteria: Removing reference to the national living wage removes potentially confusing and unnecessarily complex eligibility criteria.
Alignment with policy goals: The changes aim to better align the Help-to-Save scheme with the overall goal of promoting savings among low-income households.

Arguments Against

Potential for Increased Administrative Burden: While simplifying eligibility, processing an increasingly high volume of applications for the Help to Save scheme may still create more work for the administering body.
Fiscal Implications: Expanding eligibility could increase the government's financial commitment to the Help-to-Save scheme. A thorough cost-benefit analysis should evaluate this.
Unintended consequences: Removing the national living wage reference without a careful assessment may lead to unforeseen consequences—for instance, possibly reducing the impact on the intended group.
Limited Impact: A minimum income threshold of only £1 might have little impact on actual uptake of the program

The Treasury make these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraphs 4(2), 5(2) and 6(3) of Schedule 2 to the Savings (Government Contributions) Act 2017[1].

These regulations were created using the authority granted by specific sections of the Savings (Government Contributions) Act 2017.

This Act provides the legal basis for establishing and managing the Help-to-Save program.

These Regulations may be cited as the Help-To-Save Accounts Regulations 2025 and come into force on 6th April 2025.

The official name of these regulations is the Help-To-Save Accounts Regulations 2025, and they became effective on April 6th, 2025.

Regulation 3 of the Help-To-Save Accounts Regulations 2018[2] is amended as follows.

This section indicates that changes are being made to Regulation 3 from the 2018 Help-to-Save Accounts Regulations.

In paragraph (3), for sub-paragraph (b), substitute— “ (b) has earned income in the assessment period immediately preceding the first eligibility reference date equal to or greater than £1.”.

This amendment replaces sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (3) in Regulation 3 of the 2018 regulations.

The new sub-paragraph changes the eligibility income threshold for Universal Credit claimants to a minimum of £1.

In paragraph (6) delete sub-paragraph (d).

This section specifies that sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph (6) in Regulation 3 of the 2018 regulations is to be removed.

Jeff Smith Anna Turley Two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury 11th March 2025

This section shows the signatures and titles of the individuals who approved these regulations, along with the date of approval.

These Regulations amend the Help-to-Save Accounts Regulations 2018 (S. I. 2018/87) (“the 2018 Regulations”). Regulation 1 provides for citation and commencement. Regulation 2 makes amendments to paragraphs (3)(b) and (6)(d) of regulation 3 of the 2018 Regulations. Paragraph (3)(b) of regulation 3 is amended in respect of the eligibility criteria for Help-to-Save accounts for Universal Credit claimants so that the requirement is that claimants must earn at least £1 in the period specified in paragraph (3)(b). Paragraph (6)(d) of regulation 3 is amended to remove the reference to the national living wage rate. A Tax Information and Impact Note covering this instrument will be published on the website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-information-and-impact-notes-tiins.

This Explanatory Note summarizes the regulations.

It clarifies that the regulations amend the 2018 version, specifying which sections are changed.

The note explains the changes concerning earned income requirements for Universal Credit claimants and the removal of the national living wage reference, then signals that a supporting tax note is available online.

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