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Sky News
30-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Savings Guide: The current best rates to make the most of your cash
Why you can trust Sky News As we approach another Bank of England base rate decision next Thursday, the markets are expecting to see a cut from the Monetary Policy Committee, writes Anna Bowes, savings expert from The Private Office. So, ahead of that meeting, I thought I'd round up some of the most popular accounts and see how the top rates have fared recently. Easy access There is now more than £900bn in easy access savings accounts, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. Much of this is likely to be earning a poor rate of interest, especially if it is languishing with the high street banks. There is also a staggering £301bn sitting in current accounts earning no interest at all. There are plenty of competitive rates available, paying more than inflation and even a few paying more than the base rate of 4.5%. But it's important to look beyond the headline rates as many of the top accounts have restricted access and/or short-term bonus rates. There have been small positive changes to leading accounts over the past month. At the beginning of April, the top rate available was 4.75% and the average across the top five accounts was 4.67%. Last week, the financial app Chip launched the Chip Easy Access Saver, which has gone to the top of the table, offering 4.76% AER. However, this account allows only three penalty-free withdrawals a year - any more and the rate drops to 2.1% for the rest of the year. In addition, it includes a 12-month bonus rate of 1.20%. There are plenty of straightforward accounts available too. The latest issue of Charter Savings Banks Easy Access Account (Issue 58) is paying 4.59% AER, with no bonus or restricted access. Easy access cash ISAs It's another positive story in the easy access best buy table, with two more accounts paying more than 5% AER. This means the top rates on offer are paying more than the non-ISA equivalents - even more of an incentive to make sure you use your cash ISA allowance - which remains at £20,000 this tax year, although this is under review. These two new accounts are available via financial app companies Plum and MoneyBox, paying 5.06% and 5.05% respectively. They are not banks in their own right, so your money is deposited with their partners CitiBank, in the case of Plum, and a split between Santander and HSBC if you opt for MoneyBox. Your cash is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, assuming you don't hold £85,000 with these banks already. If you'd rather not use a financial app, Vida Savings has a Defined Access ISA Issue 1 paying 4.63% AER. This account can be opened online with a minimum of £100 but, as the name suggests, you are restricted on the amount of penalty-free withdrawals that can be made each year. Charter Savings Bank, which is also an online account, is paying 4.59% on its Easy Access Cash ISA Issue 57, but this allows you to make as many withdrawals as you like. Fixed-rate bonds Although some of the best buy fixed-term bond rates available have fallen a little in the past month, there are still plenty of inflation-busting accounts available. Now could be the time to fix given the base rate is expected to fall next month. At the beginning of April, you could have fixed for one year at 4.70% - today it's a little less at 4.65% AER. That's still higher than inflation, 2.6%, even if tax is deducted. The top rates for longer fixes have fallen but, again, only by a very small amount. You can still lock in for two years at 4.53%, three years at 4.55% and five years at 4.56%. Fixed-rate ISAs The drops have been a little harsher for fixed-rate ISAs. That said, you can still find accounts paying more than 4.20%. Two-year and five-year terms are both paying 4.30%, the top one-year cash ISA is paying 4.26%, and the top three-year ISA pays 4.20%. Although the top ISA rates look lower than the bond rates, if you pay tax on your savings, the net rate is likely to be lower. Example If you were to deduct the basic rate tax, 20%, from the LHV Bank one-year bond paying 4.65%, the post-tax rate is 3.72%. On a balance of £20,000, you would take home £744 from the bond, whereas you would take home £852 from the top one-year tax free ISA. If you are not a taxpayer or you are not yet fully using your personal savings allowance, then the ISA might not be the best choice.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Martin Lewis shares important update for parents on school lunch payments
Martin Lewis has shared an update for parents who had lost money from cashless payments for school meals, trips and other expenses. Squid, one of the big providers of school payment systems has agreed to stop charging parents £10 fees to get their own money back after it decided to withdraw its services from the UK. Squid offered a prepaid account and card that parents could top up online and that children could use to pay for school lunch, after school clubs or trips. But when it closed on March 14 2025, parents were told they'd have to pay £10 to get any balance back. An update on Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert website says: " has been investigating the firm's exit from the UK market for the past week, after we received several reports from concerned parents who had been told that they'd be charged a £10 admin fee to have their balances refunded, and that balances under £10 wouldn't be refunded at all." Following the investigation, Squid has now agreed to give the money back, without charging the £10 refund fee. As first reported by the BBC's Money Box on Saturday March 29, Squid has now agreed a solution - albeit not a perfect one. Squid will work with schools to reimburse parents without any charge. Your child's school should contact you directly to arrange this. In these cases, you won't need to apply for a refund through Squid's website. School payment provider Squid agrees to drop £10 refund fees. Here's what you need to know... — Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) March 31, 2025 If schools can't manage the refund, the £10 charge will be reduced to a maximum of £2.50, through Squid's online portal. The fee will be between 20p and £2.50 depending on the amount being refunded (the exact fee will be shown as part of the process). f you already paid the higher £10 fee, this will be refunded automatically "by the start of next term". If you don't hear anything over the coming weeks, you can contact Squid using its online form or by email at customerservice@ Recommended reading: DWP benefits rise - how much and when do they go up? Cheap Easter days out with the family - deals and discounts Who can get an increased HMRC personal tax allowance, and how to apply They said it can charge a £10 'administration fee' for refunds where a parent decides to cancel their account. Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert website says: "However, given that it was Squid's own decision to withdraw the service (not parents' decision to cancel), the firm's insistence on charging the fees was understandably seen as deeply unfair by many parents. "It was possibly also unenforceable under the 'unfair contract terms' provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. "As a result, we had been pushing Squid to explain itself, which it has so far failed to do. We've approached the firm for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
BBC News
08-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Bereaved families asked to return pension overpayments
Bereaved relatives have been asked to repay state pensions that were wrongly sent to people who have died by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).The DWP has confirmed it has no legal right to reclaim the money but argues that it does so to protect public Pensions Minister Sir Steve Webb says the letter the department sends out to families does not make it clear the repayments are the past five years, the DWP mistakenly paid more than £500m in state pensions and pension credits to the deceased, recovering about half from bereaved relatives. This situation can arise if there is a delay in reporting a death - or in the DWP processing it - causing further pension payments to be a result, part of that payment may cover a period after the person has the latest year, £144m was overpaid in state pensions by the DWP after a person's death due to delayed department recovered £67.3m, leaving £76.7m in unrecovered Steve, who is a partner at pensions consultancy LCP, used a Freedom of Information request to see a copy of the letter the DWP sends out to families and executors. It revealed that while the department asks for the money to be returned to protect public funds, it does not state that repayment is voluntary. 'Consistent approach' needed The former minister said he was "shocked" to learn the letter does not clarify that returning the money isn't Steve argued that this turns pension repayments into a "lottery" where some people send the money back while others don' former Liberal Democrat politician, who served in the ministry between 2010 and 2015, warned the system disproportionately affects the most vulnerable, who may be grieving and unable to question the called for a "consistent approach", urging the government either to secure a legal basis for recovering overpayments or stop benefiting from "people who don't know how this system works".Radio 4 Money Box listener Dennis said he had been "caught out" by the procedure twice, after both of his parents passed explained that he followed the letter's instructions to "settle all" his parents' added that he "obeys the government and will pay it" as he didn't know the repayment was not legally Money Box listener, Jan, told the BBC that her late husband would be "absolutely beside himself" if he knew that over £250 of his pension had been paid back when it didn't need to said she was confused when she received a letter from the DWP stating her husband had been overpaid, as she had informed them "immediately" after his death."It was upsetting the way it happened and [the way] the whole thing played out," she Department for Work and Pensions said in a statement: "It is not our intention to cause distress, however, we have a responsibility to taxpayers to recover overpayments. We acknowledge this is not always possible."Whilst there is no legal obligation to repay a debt of this type, we recognise some people will be willing to repay money to which there was no entitlement. We provide full contact details and encourage anyone with concerns to call us."For more on this story listen to Money Box at 12:00 GMT on BBC Radio 4 or catch up on BBC Sounds.
