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UK launches new "Help to Save" initiative

Xinhua, March 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Monday a bonus scheme for millions of Britons after a research revealed that nearly half of the population have less than 500 pounds (720 U.S. dollars) set aside for emergencies.

Cameron's new support scheme includes a Help to Save initiative, a national mentoring campaign and increases in the National Minimum Wage for young people.

He said the government will help kick-start savings with a 1,200-pound bonus for up to 3.5 million people through a new "Help to Save" scheme.

A 20-million-U.S.-dollar investment will help turn around the lives of 25,000 struggling teens through a national mentoring campaign.

In addition, almost half a million young people will receive a pay rise of up to 450 pounds a year, thanks to the largest increases in the National Minimum Wage for eight years, he said in a statement.

The government-backed bonus on savings is part of a drive to improve the life chances of the disadvantaged, Cameron said.

The scheme comes in the wake of the research showing that almost half of British adults have less than 500 pounds set aside for emergencies, the Downing Street said.

With the new Help to Save scheme, anyone in work and in receipt of Universal Credit or Working Tax Credits will be able to save and receive a 50-percent bonus after two years.

Account holders can then choose to continue saving under the scheme for a further two years and receive another bonus.

The government has already announced plans for a National Living Wage of 7.2 pounds for workers over 25, which will be introduced from next month, equivalent to a pay rise of at least 900 pounds a year.

Cameron's announcement on Monday will mean that 21 to 24-year-olds on the minimum wage will also see a pay rise worth an average of 450 pounds per year.

The National Minimum Wage for 21 to 24-year-olds will rise by 3.7 percent to 6.95 pounds an hour, 18 to 20-year-olds will see their minimum wage rise by 4.7 percent, and the minimum wage for 16 to 17-year-olds will rise by 3.4 percent, with apprentices seeing their wage rise by 3 percent. (1 pound = 1.43 U.S. dollars) Endit