I've already posted in AIBU as it has the greatest amount of traffic & it's something I think people should be aware of if it's applicable to them, but have cut & pasted here as well for lurkers over here 
Anyhoo!
I've just found out today about the Government run Help to Save thing for low earners on Tax Credit or Universal Credit.
If you know anyone that fits the eligibility criteria then please have a look at it & pass it on in case they too have never heard of it & may be interested.
Basically:
- You can save up to £50 per month in the account
- You don't have to pay in every month
- You can withdraw money at any point
- The account is active for 4 years, at which point it auto closes
- You can close it at any point during the 4 years if you want
There are 2 bonus points (after 2 years, and after 4 years) at each of these two points you'll get a 50% tax free bonus of the max balance you had on the account over the previous 2 years
(small print is that the 2nd two year period bonus is only calculated on any extra amount compared with the first two year period)
So! If you save £10 per week for the full 4 years without withdrawing anything, you'll have:
- saved £2,080
- received a £520 tax free bonus at 2 yr point
- received another £520 tax free bonus at 4 yr point
The bonuses do not affect your benefits & you can keep using the account if your benefits stop for any reason (eg start working & earning too much for benefits)
As I said, I'd never heard of this before & its def something I think should be known about more (think it was rolled out last year?)
I've just opened my account today & I've set up a standing order for a small amount each week that I shouldn't miss - if nothing else I can look forward to a couple of bonus payments over next 4 years & at the end have a small lump sum of savings to put towards something
It's very easy to do - you can apply for an account via your tax credit summary page on the govt gateway.
Link to Martin Lewis's appraisal of it:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/help-to-save/