Pensioner Saving Advice

mpreed

Hi

I wondered if anyone could offer me any advice for financial help for my mother.

My father passed away on Christmas Day, and left everything to her. Most of the estate was in the house, but she'll have around £5000 to invest come April.

She wants to put this £5000 into the best instant access account possible as well as probably putting in £150 per month.

My mother is in her 80's, so doesn't pay tax. She's not a computer user, but an internet only account would be ok, as she has family around her with internet access, but she'd prefer one she could telephone to carry out tasks.

She doesn't have any savings at the moment at all.

Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance

dunstonh

can you clarify, is this money to invest or to save?

mpreed

Excuse my ignorance, but is the difference between investing and saving the amount of risk?

If so, then it would be savings, as she would want a low-risk solution.

Ta

dunstonh

Investing generally refers to investment products which typically involve some risk. Saving generally refers to deposit based savings accounts.

Investments can involve low risk solutions, such as corporate bonds, gilts, index linked investments and commercial property. All of which have far greater potential for growth than savings accounts but do not offer any guarantee of capital (well, it is possible to get guarantees on death but ignoring that for now). Some investments also have guarantees/capital security on them if held for a minimum period of time.

mpreed

Ta for that. Most interesting for when I need to invest some dibs long term in a few years time.

But my mother is very old school and conservative so she'd be happier with savings.

So which savings would be best in her case? Any tips?

Ta in advance

mpreed

Can anyone provide any guidance?

Mr_Mumble

Check out the R85 form for claiming tax back on bank/building society savings if your mother is a non-taxpayer.

If instant access isn't a requirement for the £150 your mother intends to save monthly you should look at regular savers (e.g. 7% at Halifax or more at HSBC or A&L if you're prepared to open a current account) along with a normal savings account for the lump sum.

For the lump sum; A&L has a savings account paying 5.15% with bonus, Cahoot and Bradford & Bingley have "clean" (i.e. no nasty small print) accounts paying 4.85% while First Direct offers 5% in months money isn't withdrawn. All these accounts are web based. Anglo Irish Bank offer 4.8% for a savings account operated via phone and mail.

Don't rule out a cash-ISA even if your mother is a non-taxpayer. A cash-ISA is slightly less flexible since you can only pay in 3K per fiscal year but most do allow instant access and many banks offer higher rates than with standard savings accounts, including the Halifax and B&B who currently offer 5%. Click the links to "moneyfacts" and "moneysupermarket" to find out what other accounts may fulfill your mothers needs.

cheerfulcat

Hello, mpreed

I am sorry for your loss. This is a difficult enough time for your mother, I'm sure she doesn't want to be worrying about finances. The best-buy tables change all the time but you could have a look at moneysupermarket.com, a comparison site ( as mentioned by Mr Mumble ). If the highest interest isn't a priority, the Nationwide Flexaccount and its associated E-savings account might be of interest. The Flexaccount is just a current account, operable from branches or by phone; the E-savings account is linked to it but is internet-only and pays 4.5%. I find the Nationwide very easy to deal with, both in branch and on the telephone, and while their rates aren't always the top ones, they don't muck about with them as much as some banks do.

HTH

Cheerfulcat

margaretclare

Hi

I'm 70. I have a savings account with cahoot and also a cash ISA with the Yorkshire Building Society https://www.ybs.co.uk - as someone else has said, they do have good interest rates.

If she wants to do telephone banking may I suggest Alliance & Leicester for a basic savings account with good interest. https://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/savings

Best wishes

Aunty Margaret

pseudopensioner

Coventry Building Society have Sixty Plus Saver account with quite good returns.

You can apply online for her and you can be a joint account holder.

I have done this with my daughter.

mpreed

Some great advice there - thanks very much one and all.