The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

PloughmansLunch

oz0707 said:

allegro120 said:

oz0707 said:

Just gone to empty OBS and see the rate has improved from 3.25 to 3.5% Not sure its worth the aggro for 50 pence a week. 

Currently 3.5% is a low rate. It increased to 3.5% on 20th April and even then it wasn't competitive. HSBS OBS was good for the first few months and then fell behind.

Its 10k though, Whats the difference between this and the highest paying ea .3%?

If you take out even 1p of the HSBC OBS the interest rate drops massively as a punishment for the rest of the month

Bridlington1

@soulsaver Hampshire Trust bank Online Easy Access Account (Issue 11) is now at 3.82% according to moneyfacts.

EDIT: Now on their website:
https://www.htb.co.uk/personal-savings/variable-rate-accounts/
https://www.htb.co.uk/htbcontent/uploads/2021/02/HTB_PS_Online_EasyAccessAccount_Keyacts_01062023.pdf

Zaul22

Investec out of the left field there, bet Mr Chip didn't see that one coming. While it's the same rate, I wonder if he might go up a bit just because they are a more well known alternative for the people who don't like Chip. 

mebu60

Bridlington1 said:

Hampshire Trust bank Online Easy Access Account (Issue 11) is now at 3.82% according to moneyfacts.

Not yet showing on HTB, hopefully will appear in the morning. 

t1redmonkey

Let's see if these recent challengers that have put their rates up to 3.8x% prompt Chip to go up to the 3.9x% range by the end of tomorrow...

jaceyboy

t1redmonkey said:

Let's see if these recent challengers that have put their rates up to 3.8x% prompt Chip to go up to the 3.9x% range by the end of tomorrow...

This would be good, I believe they really should be putting it up to 4% flat

soulsaver

mebu60 said:

Bridlington1 said:

Hampshire Trust bank Online Easy Access Account (Issue 11) is now at 3.82% according to moneyfacts.

Not yet showing on HTB, hopefully will appear in the morning. 

It is... Click Bridlingtons link and scroll down...

soulsaver

Bridlington1 said:

@soulsaver Hampshire Trust bank Online Easy Access Account (Issue 11) is now at 3.82% according to moneyfacts.

EDIT: Now on their website:
https://www.htb.co.uk/personal-savings/variable-rate-accounts/
https://www.htb.co.uk/htbcontent/uploads/2021/02/HTB_PS_Online_EasyAccessAccount_Keyacts_01062023.pdf

I didn't get this notification? Maybe 'cos I was on the thread?

Bigwheels1111

worriednoob said:

EthicsGradient said:

worriednoob said:

Apologies, I'm not sure if it's the right place to post on here, so it's incorrect, I'm more than happy for mods to move this post.  So just to be clear, this question is not for me.  It's for one of my best friends and their partner.  They are not very tech savvy, so they've asked me to help them. 

So my friend used to work in a full-time job earning good salary.  However around 2 months ago, due to work accident/injury, he quit his full-time job and has gone to a zero-hours contract where he only earns around £5-6k per annum + disability benefits .  But he has also built around £45k in savings due to his previous job salary.  His wife on the other hand is in full-time work and earns around £23k per annum and has saved around £10k.  Other than what's already mentioned, They have no other financial income sources.

What he wants to know is if he were to put the £45k money in savings account, what are the tax implications?  i.e. how much interest would he be allowed to accrue before he would be hit with tax?

Furthermore, does being married mean that any savings built by both himself and his wife would be counted as one or does each individual have their own allowances? i.e, can his wife build a seperate pot of savings because she is allowed her own amount of interest?  If so, how do we calculate how much such allowances are?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give.

I suspect this could depend on what the disability benefits are, and how they're taxed - you may find answers from people familiar with the system in the Benefits & tax credits — MoneySavingExpert Forum . I would guess that the combined amount of benefits and £6k is still less than his wife's salary, in which case it's probably a good idea to have the £45k in his name even if the benefits are taxable. When it's know how much, if any, of his benefits are taxable, we could look at if any of the savings might attract tax - which could be avoided anyway by putting them in a cash ISA.

Thanks for your quick reply EthicsGradient.  He gets PIP (middle-rate) and his wife gets Carers Allowance.  Other than that, they have no other benefits.  I was under the assumption that savings don't affect pip or carers allowance?

PiP is not taxable, carers allowance is taxable.
If you get 6k in earnings, that leaves £12,570 of interest that is tax free. Over 10k means filling out a tax return.

Bigwheels1111

worriednoob said:

Thanks @housebuyer143 and @kaMelo for alerting me to this.  Yes, your absolutely right that she shouldn't be getting Carers Allowance.  I have made them aware of this and she plans to contact the benefits office immediately.  Although it's unintentional as she may not have been aware of it, I explained that she will most likely need to pay the CA back, which she's happy to do so.

The main thing I have learnt is that due to the husband's small amount of earnings, his pip isn't affected and he is save to earn upto around £6k in interest, hence he can continue to build a lot of savings before being taxed.  I've also learnt that his wife has a seperate, albeit smaller allowance of around £1k interest before being taxed.  If I've got any of this wrong, I'd greatly appreciate it if someone could correct me.

Thanks again for all your help.

He can get £12,570 in interest tax free.
With earnings that’s a total of £18,570. No tax payable.