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Savings options for income-hungry over-50s

Those suffering most from miserable savings rates are those saving for retirement the elderly who depend on interest from cash on deposit to supplement income. But what are their options?

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by Lorna Bourke on Sep 11, 2010 at 00:01

Here again the rates are better – and tax free – than the specialist Over-50s accounts with Northern Rock topping the charts paying 2.85% fixed for a year on its Fixed Rate Isa Break Issue 3, on sums of £500 up to the annual 2010 maximum of £5,100.

Unfortunately transfers in from other providers are not allowed and it won’t suit those looking for income as interest is paid annually. Also bear in mind that once you have withdrawn money from a tax-free ISA, even if it is only the accrued interest, you cannot pay it back into the account until you qualify for the next year’s ISA allowance. You have lost the tax shelter for the amount withdrawn.

Fixed rate bonds

For those who can afford to tie up their savings for a fixed term bonds are the answer. The main problem is in deciding on the term – whether to go for the top rates which are paid on five year bonds or opt for a bit less but retain the option to switch if better returns come along when interest rates start to rise.

However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that a higher Bank Base Rate – which will come eventually – will also necessarily mean better savings rates. The banks have been reducing rates on fixed term bonds for some time now in spite of BBR remaining unchanged at 0.5%. Once interest rates start to move up, many banks will simply increase borrowing rates but leave deposit rates on hold.

Bank of Baroda continues to dominate the fixed rate bond market paying 3.15% for one year money, 3.8% at two years, 4.3% at three years and 4.9% at five years with a minimum investment of £500. Interest is paid on maturity so you must be prepared to tie up both your capital and the interest for the full period. This offer is exclusive to www.moneysupermarket.com. At four years market leader is Birmingham Midshires which is paying 4.15% on sums of £1 or more.

For most older savers the best course of action is to keep rainy day money in an instant access account to cope with unforeseen expenditure and the balance in a longer term fixed rate bond where you can lock into the better returns. If you are unsure what deposit rates will do, split your money and invest it for varying maturities.

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15 comments so far. Why not have your say?

I consider all these saving accounts to be inadequate for pensioners. I´d go for something like Artemis income shares which not only pay more in divi but may increase in capitol.

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Martin Selmis is right - high yielding, robust shares like National Grid or Vodafone, both yielding 6% plus are the only option. The alternatives mentioned in Lourna Bourke's article only offer the option of being screwed by the banks and building societies.

Pile in to equities I say!!!

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Why hasn't Lorna considered PIBs ... they seem to offer better interest rates ??

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It depends on the capital available, but all should consider the "ISA" route.

We have sheltered £20,000+ into two Ivestment trusts, paying quarterly dividends,(different months)

The IT's are both from Perpetual Invesco; Edinburgh , and Invesco Income & Growth. They both yield just under 5%,are solid,quite conservative and should offer cap growth at a modest level in the coming years.

Next year we shall double up,since the after tax income level is difficult to beat. Even without the isa wrapper the yield is superior to almost everything around in the deposit arena.

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I bought Artemis High Income in 2001 and although the yield has been good but variable, the capital sum is even now still less than the amount I invested.

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Cae, you can buy PIB's in an ISA too.

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Birmingham Midshires was part of Halifax, now Lloyds.

When is the Bank of England going to wake up?

At the present rates it is the savers that are subsidising the govt and borrowers, and yet the govt is trying to reduce subsidies everywhere else. What is sauce...........

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I bought West Bromwich 6.15% PIBs for more than the initial offer price in November 2006. At first I received the interest as expected and promised then when the West Bromwich then got into financial difficulty they converted them to Profit Participating Deferred (PPDS) shares without any consultation. They then promptly stopped paying any interest as they didn't make a profit. These are now virtually impossible to sell and have lost about 80% of their value. The description of PIBs as being Permanent Interest Bearing is untrue and this investment isn't covered by any compensation scheme. More importantly prior to buying them I checked on the Society's website and when I couldn't find details any details telephoned about their PIB issue. I wasn't informed that there was a complex and lengthy Prospectus describing the product and was assured by staff at the Society that I would receive a fixed rate of interest which would be based on the price that I paid. This claim proved to be untrue. On complaining to the Society they claimed they simply blamed me for making a poor investment decision and refused to continue corresponding with me. At some point I will get round to getting all of the information together and complaining to the Financial Services Authority FSA. I am happy to provide evidence supporting my claims and welcome assistance from anyone else who has been similarly deceived to contact me and make a joint representation to the FSA about Weest Bromwich's 6.15% PIB issue.

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What about Invesco Perp.Monthly Income and Invesco Distribution Inc funds,in ISAs,they have a good net yield paid monthly.We have used this combination over the last 3 years,in ISAs. Capital performance has also been good

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I can only repeat my regular comment that Savers are paying for the excesses of borrowers. The Government is well aware of this but assumes that Borrowers are the only sector able to promote some form of expansoin.

If savers were offered logical alternatives we would invest in, for example. new property gowth bonds guaranteed up to £50,000 per individual by the Government. Use some imagination Mr Cameron!!

Jack

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Andrew

Your plug for your PV product claiming an 8% return is flawed, and you should be hounded off Citywire, especially as I guess you do not have FSA approval for advising the public (other than as a private individual giving his opinion) on investment products.

From the literature I have, the 8% excludes the depreciation of the capital cost - say 5% for a 20 year life, extra buildings insurance, maintenance (including regular cleaning) and repairs. So a return of 0% to 2% is more likely, and this assumes that you have a South facing roof at the optimum angle and do not live in a cloudy area or in the higher UK lattitudes.

PV is presently one of the most expensive forms of renewable energy. But it will have its day when ultra thin PV coatings which can be cheaply printed come of age.

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The problem with PIBS is also the large bid/offer spread, often as high as 15% even before dealing fees are added.

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PIBS have been a disaster through this banking episode and if you can find some that you're sure the Issuer will continue to pay interest on when interest rates do go up their capial value will fall as the interest is fixed.

The same applies to stockmarket related products in that the capital value can vary.....it's this risk that you take to get a higher income return.

It would have been nice if Pensioners had been given the same £1000 increase in personal tax allowances as those under 65......a real stab-in-the back that one is!!

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Lots of advertising on here, but at least most of it is for financial products. I don't think the moderators should allow adverts for solar panels though.

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edward bowman

Oct 15, 2010 at 09:49

I deposited a large sum with Santander instant access 2.75%.internet

I needed to withdraw over 10K and this was refused in my login page. I was told to phone a number. This was a high pay number and I had to wait a very long time to be shunted from one department to another. Several people told me that the only way to get hold of a larger sum of my money was to goto a branch with my passport. I was then told that i need my introductory letter was well. That needed a second visit and a wait o half an hour for the paper work. I was also told that the only way to close my account was to withdraw the 10K every day till the money was out. So much for instant access and remember that ti may take half a lifetime to reach the right person.

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