When a Help to Save Account Ends

A Help to Save account lasts four years. Four years after you open it, the account closes, and you cannot reopen it or open another Help to Save account afterwards¹. The scheme has been closing accounts automatically since January 2022, when the first ones reached the end of their term².

When the account closes, you keep everything. At the end of year four the account closes and you keep all your savings plus any bonuses earned³. Any money still in the account is paid into the bank account you nominated⁴. The final bonus is worked out on the difference between the highest balance you held in the first two years and the highest balance you held in the last two years, and it is 50% of that difference⁵.

The date that matters is your own opening date, not a scheme-wide deadline. The scheme was publicly launched on 12 September 2018, and accounts have been maturing in the years since². If you opened later, your four years run later.

What happens to your savings when the account closes

The account does not simply stop. At the end of year four it closes, and you keep all your savings plus any bonuses earned³. The Help to Save scheme states that after four years your account will be closed and all your remaining money will be paid into your nominated bank account⁴. That nominated account is the one you gave when you opened the Help to Save account, so it is worth checking those details are still current before the term ends.

Two things arrive separately. The closing balance is your own money coming back. The final bonus is a separate payment worked out on the difference between your highest balance in the first two years and your highest balance in the last two years⁵. Because the bonus is based on the highest balance reached rather than the balance on the closing day, the timing of withdrawals and deposits across the four years affects what you get, not just what is left at the end.

This is different from how most savings accounts behave at the end of a term. A fixed-term savings account that has matured is often rolled into another account, and some providers move the balance automatically: Halifax, for example, changes a Fixed Saver to an Instant Saver once the term finishes⁶. A Help to Save account does not roll over. It ends, the money is returned, and the scheme relationship finishes.

How the four-year term affects bonuses

The bonus is paid every two years¹. At the end of year two you get a bonus based on your highest balance in the first two years; at the end of year four you get a bonus based on your highest balance in years three and four³. The 50% bonus is payable at the end of the second and fourth years, based on the highest balance achieved over that period².

The final bonus is calculated as 50% of the difference between the highest balance saved in the first two years and the highest balance saved in the last two years⁵. That structure rewards saving more in the second half of the term. If your balance in years three and four never rises above the peak you reached in years one and two, the difference is nil and there is nothing for the final bonus to be 50% of.

There is a worked example in the guidance that makes this concrete: you do not get a bonus in year 4 if you withdraw all the money after two years and carry on saving, because your highest balance does not go over £1,200⁷. The lesson is that the highest balance, not the closing balance, is what the bonus is measured against.

Can I close my Help to Save account before four years are up?

Yes. The account stays open for four years, and you can withdraw savings to your bank account or close it at any time⁷. There is no lock-in and no penalty charge for taking money out.

The cost is the bonus. If you close the account early, you also will not be eligible for the next bonus that's due⁸. The legislation behind the scheme allows for a nil bonus where an account is closed, or otherwise ceases to be a Help to Save account, before the end of its maturity period⁹. In other words, closing early does not just stop future saving, it removes the bonus that the remaining months would have produced.

Closing early is also final in a way that closing an ordinary savings account is not. Once an account has been closed, you cannot reopen it or open a new Help to Save account¹⁰. The scheme rules say an account may be opened only if the person is eligible on the eligibility reference dates and no Help to Save account has previously been opened for them¹¹. So a decision to close in year two or three ends the Help to Save option permanently, even if your circumstances later change.

Can I open another Help to Save account after mine closes?

No. You are only allowed one Help to Save account, so you will not be able to open another in the future⁸. The same rule applies whether the account closes at the end of its four years or you close it early: once an account has been closed, you cannot reopen it or open a new Help to Save account¹⁰.

This is written into the scheme legislation rather than being an administrative choice. An account may be opened only if the individual is an eligible person on the eligibility reference dates and no Help-to-Save account has previously been opened for the individual¹¹. The restriction follows the person, not the account.

For anyone whose account is approaching its end, that makes the closing date a genuine end point rather than a pause. If you want to keep saving with a government bonus after your Help to Save account closes, the alternative route is a Lifetime ISA, which works differently: it is a separate product with its own rules, and the two are compared in Help to Save or Lifetime ISA: Government Bonuses Compared.

What to do before your account ends

The practical steps are about making sure the money and the paperwork land where you expect.

1. Check the nominated bank account. All remaining money is paid into the account you nominated when you opened the Help to Save account⁴. If that account has closed or changed, the payment has nowhere to go.
2. Check your opening date. Your four years run from the date you opened the account, so that date, not the scheme launch date, sets your closing date³.
3. Decide whether to keep saving to the end. The final bonus depends on the highest balance in years three and four, so money paid in during the last two years is what moves the final figure⁵.
4. Keep your records. Once an account closes you lose access to it, and the same principle applies to ordinary bank accounts: if you are using your overdraft, you will have to pay it back before you can close your account, and you will lose access to statements, so make sure you have copies if you need them¹².

If you are weighing up whether to keep the money in Help to Save or move it elsewhere, the wider options are set out in Types of savings account and Help to Save: the 50% government bonus for people on Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit. Withdrawing part of the balance before the end is covered in Withdrawing From Help to Save.

Where does my money go when my Help to Save account closes?

After four years, your Help to Save account will be closed and all your remaining money will be paid into your nominated bank account⁴. That is the whole of the balance, not a portion of it. The bonus is separate and is paid on top.

The mechanism is similar to how other savings products return money when they end, though the detail differs by provider. A Starling Easy Saver pays any money left in it into your personal current account if you close it¹³. A Chase round-up account is closed and its funds transferred to you when the last of your other accounts with the provider is closed¹⁴. Ulster Bank notes that closing a savings or current account which is part of a Round Ups arrangement will end the Round Ups arrangement¹⁵. Help to Save follows the same principle: the account ends, the money comes back to a nominated account, and any linked arrangement finishes with it.

One difference is worth noting. Some savings accounts give you a window to change your mind or to act before a change takes effect. M&S, for example, gives customers until the change is made or 60 days, whichever is longer, to say they want to close the account¹⁶. Help to Save does not work that way: the account closes four years after it was opened, and the closure is automatic¹.

Where to get help with your Help to Save account

Help to Save is run by HMRC, and the account is opened and managed through government channels rather than through a bank branch. You can open an account online at gov.uk/helptosave or through the HMRC app, and you need your National Insurance number, your bank account details and a Government Gateway account; if you cannot get online, you can call 0300 322 7093⁷. Applications can also be made online via GOV.UK¹⁷.

If you are unsure when your account ends, or what your balance and bonus position is, the HMRC app and your online account are the places to look, because the four-year term runs from your own opening date³. If you have a problem with the account that HMRC cannot resolve, the Financial Ombudsman Service considers complaints about financial firms, and free, impartial guidance on savings and on managing money is available from MoneyHelper¹².

For anyone whose circumstances have changed, the wider picture matters too. Help to Save eligibility changed from 6 April 2025¹⁸, and the Help to Save Accounts Regulations 2025 came into force on 6 April 2025¹⁹. The scheme itself was extended, with the extension announced to run to April 2025²⁰. None of that alters the four-year term of an account you already hold, but it is worth knowing if you are advising someone else or checking your own position.