Savings (Government Contributions) Act 2017

Part 4 Government bonuses

Calculation and payment of government bonuses

15 (1) The individual for whom a Help-to-Save account is opened is the person entitled to bonus in respect of the account.

(2) Treasury regulations must make provision for the calculation of the amount of bonus to which an individual is entitled in respect of a Help-to-Save account.

(3) The regulations may (in particular) make provision—

(a) for a single amount of bonus for the whole of the maturity period for a Help-to-Save account, or for different amounts of bonus for different parts of that period;

(b) for an amount of bonus to be nil in the case of an account that is closed, or otherwise ceases to be a Help-to-Save account, before the end of its maturity period.

(4) Treasury regulations may make provision about the payment of bonus, and the regulations may (in particular) make provision—

(a) for bonus in respect of a Help-to-Save account to be paid by a single payment (even if the total payable is made up of different amounts for different parts of the maturity period for the account), or by two or more payments;

(b) for bonus paid in respect of an account to be added to the account or otherwise credited or paid out;

(c) about payment of bonus in respect of a Help-to-Save account in cases where payment is made after the death of the individual for whom the account was opened.

(5) Sub-paragraph (1) has effect subject to any provision mentioned in sub-paragraph (4)(c) that is contained in regulations under sub-paragraph (4).

Recovery of wrongly-paid bonus

16 (1) Treasury regulations may provide for the repayment of any amount paid by way of bonus that ought not to have been paid (whether because of provision under paragraph 14 or otherwise).

(2) The regulations may (in particular) make provision—

(a) identifying the persons liable to make a repayment;

(b) charging interest on repayable amounts;

(c) for collecting a repayment and interest charged on it.

(3) The provision that may be made under sub-paragraph (2)(c) includes (in particular) provisions applying or incorporating, with or without modifications, any enactment that makes provision in relation to the recovery of amounts of income tax or capital gains tax which has been repaid to a person but ought not to have been repaid to the person.