"50,000 Won per Month for 3 Years Yields 20.16 Million Won: Youth Future Savings Account to Launch Next June"

Youth Future Savings Account to Launch Mid Next Year
Government Supports Young People in Building Seed Money
Deposit 500,000 Won Monthly for 3 Years to Receive 20.16 Million Won Plus Bank Interest

Yonhap News Agency

The government-supported Youth Future Savings Account, designed to help young people build seed money, is set to launch around June next year.

The Financial Services Commission announced on the 12th that a kickoff meeting for the Youth Future Savings Account Task Force was held at the Government Complex Seoul, with officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Korea Federation of Banks, and the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency in attendance.

The Youth Future Savings Account is a policy savings product aimed at helping young people accumulate seed money. Under this program, the government matches a certain percentage of the monthly deposits made by participants.

During the meeting, ways to further strengthen asset-building support through the Youth Future Savings Account were discussed. The government plans to focus on supporting as many young people as possible, especially those in need, such as new employees at small and medium-sized enterprises and young small business owners.

Eligible young people who meet the income requirements can deposit up to 500,000 won per month for three years, and the government will provide a contribution equal to 6% of the deposited amount. For young people newly employed at small and medium-sized enterprises, the support rate is increased to 12%. In the case of new employees, they must enroll in the Youth Future Savings Account within six months of employment and maintain continuous employment for three years to receive support.

This support rate is the highest among all youth asset-building products offered by the Financial Services Commission to date. The maturity period is set at three years to reduce the burden of long-term commitments found in previous youth savings accounts and to encourage reasonable asset accumulation.

Eligible participants are young people aged 19 to 34 whose individual annual income is 60 million won or less, or small business owners with annual sales of 300 million won or less, and whose household income is below 200% of the median income.

The Financial Services Commission explained that it is working with relevant ministries and the National Assembly to apply tax exemption benefits to interest income generated from the Youth Future Savings Account. Additionally, a plan is being prepared to allow current Youth Leap Account holders to switch to the new product if they wish, by establishing a connection between the Youth Leap Account and the Youth Future Savings Account.

The Financial Services Commission stated that, after completing the National Assembly's budget review and tax law revisions within this year to finalize the funding scale and tax benefits, the product's detailed structure will be designed, IT systems will be established, and participating banks will be recruited, with the goal of launching the product around June next year.