The Merton Young Savers scheme is a first-of-its-kind savings account for children, launched by Merton Council in partnership with Croydon Plus Credit Union. The scheme helps the next generation build financial resilience, supports families during the cost-of-living crisis, keeps money circulating locally, and strengthens community wellbeing
Background
Merton Council responded quickly to the cost-of-living crisis, being one of the first councils in the country to declare a ‘Cost of Living Emergency’, committing a dedicated fund to support residents struggling to make ends meet and those being pushed into debt and crisis.
Working with trusted community partners, our £3 million Cost of Living Fund is making a difference in the community through direct and immediate measures, including food support and debt advice.
The response in our boroughwide Cost of Living Strategy & Action Plan 2023-2025 also includes innovative medium and long-term measures such as the Merton Young Savers Scheme, designed to build financial security and resilience for children and young people
The challenge
After housing costs, 30 per cent of children are living in poverty in Merton – a situation that was exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis.
Merton Council responded with urgent measures to support residents in crisis, but we also recognised the opportunity to play a bigger role in shaping a more secure financial future for our community.
Through our Merton Young Savers scheme, we wanted to go beyond immediate relief to invest in young people’s long-term financial resilience. By helping them build skills and savings habits early, we aim to give young people the best possible chance to flourish in adulthood – prepared to navigate challenges, withstand financial turbulence, and feel confident about their financial future. Without the opportunity to learn about saving, budgeting and planning ahead, many young people risk financial insecurity into adulthood. This not only impacts their future economic stability but also their health, wellbeing, and life chances.
We acted to ensure that the cost-of-living crisis does not define the future of children and young people in Merton.
The solution
In a first of its kind in the country, Merton Council teamed up with Croydon Plus, the credit union for Merton, Sutton and Croydon, to introduce an innovative scheme: a savings account for every Year 7 pupil who lived in Merton and provide a free £20 one-off deposit on opening.
The Merton Young Savers accounts were launched to help young people kickstart their savings journey, learn about money management, understand the value of having savings, and build good savings habits for the future.
Research consistently shows that young people’s relationship with money is formed at an early age (APPG on Financial Education 2021). If Merton’s next generation is to thrive, children and young people need access to tools to build financial confidence, develop positive habits around money, and understand the value of saving from an early age.
To ensure the pupils and their families would keep the accounts open and build savings, access to the free £20 deposit is only permitted once the young person turns 16. This is similar to the approach of the ‘Child Trust Fund’ savings accounts, which the government ran between 2002 and 2011 – delaying access so savings build.
As a condition of the account, a responsible parent/carer living in the same household must also open an account to accompany the young saver, providing a way for adults to save, too. Merton Council offered an additional free £10 one-off deposit for the adult accounts to cover a £5 membership fee on joining and a £5 incentive.
Both the young and adult account deposits are being funded through the council’s £3 million Cost of Living Fund and have been offered to Year 7 students in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.
It was important to the Council that this project was delivered with Croydon Plus – a local, community-focused organisation, owned by members with a mission to invest in local people and businesses to support them to grow and flourish.
Impact and uptake
We contacted Year 7 parents directly via our schools’ teams to encourage uptake. This method ensured information reached parents from a trusted source and included a comprehensive FAQ document and contact details.
We’ve consistently shared the accounts offer with our community through Merton Council’s communications channels, social media campaigns, e-newsletters, outdoor displays and via our printed magazine to every household in the borough.
To support promotion, a series of video case studies were created to highlight the scheme:
1. Asking kids about savings:
We interviewed Year 6 pupils at The Sherwood Primary School about savings, asking what they wanted to save for and why they think savings are important for the future to create a light-hearted look at savings’ habit.
2. Asking parents and their kids about Merton Young Savers:
- Karina (mum) Alice and Murilo
www.instagram.com/reel/DBJRt6osSNk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=eHMxZHI3a3U4bzEz
- Colin (dad) and Matthew from Melbury College
www.instagram.com/reel/DJJvF4Wp2R2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=ZnEwbzQxaW44OG52
Over the two years of the scheme, 263 eligible young people have applied for Merton Young Savers Accounts, with the total number of both young and adult savers accounts applied for totalling 526 combined.
Croydon Plus is working with the applicants to open their accounts and is providing follow-up customer support to account holders to encourage them to save.
The Merton Young Savers account will be continued for a third time for Year 7 pupils in the 2025-26 academic year.
As the scheme continues to grow in partnership with Croydon Plus, more children and young people will continue to build this vital skill, and more money will be reinvested back into the community.
Lessons learned
- Leveraging partnerships with community organisations. We work closely with local partners in our cost-of-living response with regular community steering group meetings, and cost of living events that bring council teams and community organisations together to provide a collaborative and cohesive local response to tackling the crisis. Through this joined-up work, strong relationships made it possible to bring this innovative scheme to life.
- Picking the right financial organisation is key. Partnering with a credit union allowed us to keep finances local for the benefit of our community.
- Direct communication provides the biggest boost. By sending direct communications to parents through schools, we were able to provide reassurance to Year 7 parents that the accounts are a legitimate product offered by the council and its community partner.