Talk Money Week - Help to Save: Staff Guide to Signposting

Join us for an informative session on the Help to Save scheme, hosted by Money Guiders in collaboration with HMRC.

About this event

This event is designed to provide valuable insights into the Help to Save account which is a digital savings account aimed at encouraging individuals and households on low incomes to save regularly.

Key Points Covered:

Discover Help to Save: What is a Help to Save account?

Unlock the Benefits: How a Help to Save account can work for you

Are You Eligible? Understanding the criteria

Get Started: Step-by-step guide to applying

Stay on Track: Tips for managing your account

Maximize Your Bonus: How the bonus structure works

Impact on Benefits: What you need to know

Life Happens: Handling changes in circumstances

Smart Savings: Making deposits and withdrawals

Top FAQs: Answers to the most common questions

Who should attend?

All money guidance practitioners who are supporting service users with difficult conversations and anyone offering guidance to improve the financial wellbeing. It is for practitioners who are dealing with, or might come into contact with, members of the public who may need support.

Q&A Session:

An opportunity for attendees to ask questions at the end and seek guidance from our speakers.

Talk Money Week 2025

This is our yearly campaign encouraging people to have more open conversation about their finances – from pocket money to pensions – and to continue these conversations all year-round.

We invite organisations across the country, including employers, financial services and educators, to get involved with activities and events. It all helps people to feel more confident talking money – which is often the first step to a better financial future.

2025's theme is 'Start the conversation'

We want people talking about money openly and with confidence, whether it’s:

· a quick chat about budgeting with a partner

· a question for a pension professional or

· introducing the concept of savings to a child.

‘Start the conversation’ offers a first step towards action. Download the participation pack here: Talk Money Week | Money and Pensions Service

Links to the Money Guidance Competency Framework:

Our event is designed to enhance your money guidance practice by developing your skills, confidence, and knowledge in specific money-related areas. The Money Guiders programme is centred around the Money Guidance Competency Framework, helping you understand the full breadth of money-related issues outside the regulated financial advice sector.

Technical Domain 6) Savings and Investment:

· Awareness of the benefits of saving

· Awareness of the availability of a broad range of savings products on the market, including informal savings products

Foundation Level: Signposting customers: All practitioners, regardless of their role, must be able to gather simple information from customers to direct them to appropriate sources of further support, advice, or information.

Before attending, consider the challenges you face in your work, especially when providing help and guidance on money issues to your clients or service users.

Accessibility & Other Details:

The event takes place on Microsoft Teams. If you have accessibility requirements, please inform the hosts when you register by emailing Money.Guiders.NI@maps.org.uk and we will do our best to meet them.

For example, we can support by providing the slides prior to the event, ensuring there is a transcript available, and requesting that one person takes all questions to allow a screen reader to function correctly. If there is anything else we can support, please don’t hesitate to reach out directly.

Participants should always remember to keep their own client and customer details confidential and not disclose personal information about them.

The Money Guiders Programme

Money Guiders is provided by the Money and Pensions Service. It is a programme which seeks to help money guidance practitioners improve their knowledge, skills and confidence. Everything that the Money Guiders programme offers centres around the Money Guidance Competency Framework - it's there to help you better understand the full breadth and depth of money related issues that fall outside of the regulated financial advice service sector - the things you talk to your customers about.

Before attending the session, you could:

• Try out our money guidance confidence checker, to find out how you feel about the conversations you have with customers about money
• Spend some time considering the challenges you face in your work, specifically when you provide help and guidance to your clients or service users around money issues.
• Consider how you spot potential problems, how you can start conversations about money in a sensitive way and at an appropriate time?
• Think about how you can maintain good boundaries in your role as a money guidance practitioner within your main area of work?