Lessons Learned from Our Tax Refund Savings Campaign

In 2018, SaverLife and Commonwealth launched Savers Win, a campaign to encourage low-income families to save their tax refunds. To win cash prizes, Savers pledged to save their tax refunds by direct depositing a portion into an account linked to SaverLife.

The results were positive. Over 9,000 individuals, many of whom were new to SaverLife, pledged to save over $2.4M in tax refunds. Of survey respondents, 65% said the pledge influenced what they did with their refund, and 54% said the chance to win a prize influenced what they did with their refund.

Another key learning was that people have different definitions of “saving,” especially in the short-term, where savings are often used to smooth income fluctuations.

Savers Win showed that people made plans for their refunds and stuck to them.

Survey responses from the beginning and end of the campaign showed remarkable consistency in how Savers were planning to use, and ultimately used, their refunds. Savers Win provided Commonwealth and SaverLife powerful insights into the attitudes and actions of low-income families before, during, and after tax season. These learnings will ensure future tax refund savings programs improve the financial security of millions of Americans.