Getting a decent return on your savings cash may just have become a little more tricky. Over the past few days a number of top-paying accounts have been withdrawn from the market and replaced with lower-paying versions.
So what are the best rates on offer at the moment?
According to the website SavingsChampion.co.uk, Barclays, Saga and Kent Reliance are among the companies that have pulled accounts. For example, Saga has replaced its Internet Saver paying 1.55% gross with the Telephone Saver, paying 1.35% on £1,000-plus (this includes a 12-month bonus of 0.85%).
If you are happy to tie up your money for a little over a year, Yorkshire building society has the Fixed Rate e-Bond, which pays 1.9% gross until 30 April 2016. You can save from £1,000, additional deposits are allowed while the bond is available, and you can choose annual or monthly interest (with monthly, the gross rate is 1.88%). There is a three-year version of the bond where the headline rate is 2.4% (2.37% for those taking monthly interest) fixed until 30 November 2017.
On the variable rate cash Isa front, the Post Office has the Premier Cash Isa paying 1.55% on £100-plus, though this rate is boosted by a 0.8% bonus for the first 18 months. The National Savings & Investments Direct Isa pays 1.5%.
For those willing to take more risk, there are plenty of non-savings account options. For example, Abundance is an investment and lending platform which allows small investors to put money into renewable energy schemes and receive a regular cash return. Your money is used to buy debentures (like IOUs issued by the individual projects). It is running a promotion where, throughout December, any investment of £50 or more in an Abundance project will be boosted by 2%. So if you invest £1,000, you would be buying £1,020 of debentures.
