Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

eskbanker

10_66 said:

IanManc said:

subjecttocontract said:

I was told all post in December is dealt with as 2nd class......so no point in using 1st class.

If that were the case then you'd expect the last posting dates for Christmas would be the same, but they're not.

The recommended last posting day for 2nd class is Monday 12 December and for 1st class it is Friday 16 December.

https://www.royalmail.com/christmas/last-posting-dates

Royal Mail are a bit confused with their own services.  According to their website you have to use the old stamps (without barcodes) before the end 31 January 2023.  But, according to the Post Office (branch visit), this date has been extended to July 2023.  I haven't a clue who's correct.

The deadline was extended by six months a few weeks ago but it would appear that Royal Mail haven't updated their website accordingly:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/11/nonbarcoded-stamps-summer-2023-delay-royal-mail/

However, this is all getting some distance from the thread topic! 

cricidmuslibale

refluxer said:

cricidmuslibale said:

I’ve been wondering for quite a while now, why are there only 3 regular saver ISAs in total currently available (according to Moneyfacts), one each from Vernon Building Society, Progressive Building Society and Hanley Economic Building Society respectively?

(Of these three, only Vernon’s, paying 3% annual interest, is really competitive with normal, non ISA regular savers at the moment.)

It is notable that none of the above are being offered by major banks and building societies!

Any thoughts please as to why the “big boys and girls” in the savings world in particular were not interested in offering regular saver ISAs at the start of this financial year, and whether they may consider offering them at the start of the next financial year?

Maybe it’s just me but I would have thought they would be quite popular with quite a few savers if they were much more widely available during the first few weeks from April 6 2023 onwards! I would certainly be more than interested!

Is the fact that the current annual ISA allowance of £20,000 is not divisible by 12 a key reason why regular saver ISAs are so rare at the moment, perhaps? I would still have thought that it would be feasible and reasonably practical for banks and building societies to either permit 8 monthly deposits of £1667 plus 4 of £1666 or instead to only allow a maximum of 10 monthly deposits of up to £2000 for a regular saver ISA lasting the usual 12 months.

I guess it's very rare for a RS to allow you to put away a 4-figure sum every month. Most are in the £50-£250/month region, with some exceptions (First Direct, Lloyds etc) who allow you to contribute more each month at a better rate, but only in return for also taking out a current account.

I've still got one of the few 4-figure Regular Savers I've seen in recent years (a Leek BS Flexible Saver @ £1000/month) but the rate on that has slipped below the best easy access accounts, now making it essentially pointless.

I guess the banks have to find a compromise between the amount they'll allow you to deposit and the rate they can offer, with the higher combinations being limited to the bigger banks who also offer (compulsory) current accounts. From the RS ISA accounts you mentioned, it sounds like the RS ISA rates are in the same ball-park as a conventional easy access ISA, in which case a conventional easy access ISA (without the usual RS restrictions) would make more sense.

@refluxer Thank you for your detailed response - it’s much appreciated!

It struck me when I thought a bit more about what I’ve been talking about re. Regular Saver ISAs in my post written in the early hours of this morning, that the fact that the ISA allowance is as large as £20,000 per year, and nowadays all of this can be deposited either in one go or in smaller chunks into a Cash ISA if so desired, is probably a big factor in Regular Saver ISAs not being more widely available! If the Cash ISA allowance was only £6000, for example, there would be more of an incentive for a bank or building society to offer a Regular Saver ISA with a £500 maximum monthly deposit at a competitive interest rate, perhaps slightly lower than rates for normal regular savings accounts but notably higher than average rates for easy access ISAs.

cricidmuslibale

Section62 said:

cricidmuslibale said:

Any thoughts please as to why the “big boys and girls” in the savings world in particular were not interested in offering regular saver ISAs at the start of this financial year, and whether they may consider offering them at the start of the next financial year?

Maybe it’s just me but I would have thought they would be quite popular with quite a few savers if they were much more widely available during the first few weeks from April 6 2023 onwards! I would certainly be more than interested!

Is the fact that the current annual ISA allowance of £20,000 is not divisible by 12 a key reason why regular saver ISAs are so rare at the moment, perhaps? I would still have thought that it would be feasible and reasonably practical for banks and building societies to either permit 8 monthly deposits of £1667 plus 4 of £1666 or instead to only allow a maximum of 10 monthly deposits of up to £2000 for a regular saver ISA lasting the usual 12 months.

IIRC the last ISA RS account I had (Nottingham BS) only allowed a maximum deposit of £1600/month, but after some date in March they allowed you to deposit extra money up to the ISA allowance (including any missed months).

So in principle I don't think the divisibility by 12 issue is a significant factor in product availability.

I'd suggest it might be that if someone's finances are in such a shape where sheltering cash savings in an ISA is important to them, then it is highly likely that the most tax-efficient way to do so is to use the full ISA allowance as soon as possible in the new tax year, rather than drip-feeding money into an ISA over the course of 12 months.  Therefore the value of a RS ISA to the general population is rather limited.

I only had mine with Nottingham BS because the interest rate wasn't bad and it was another way of getting cash into an RS account paying more than a paltry interest rate*. Having ISA status wasn't a consideration.

*Edit: Just checked out of curiosity, it was opened when the Notts RS ISA was paying 2% compared to the easy access rates of 1.5% from Marcus and 1.41% from Ford Money.

@Section62 Thank you very much for your considered thoughts above on the Regular Saver ISA post of mine from very early this morning!

bd10

Hi all,

Has anyone experience with Monmouthshire BS processing time of savings account applications? I sent my paper application for their shiny Xmas saver bonds by mail on 27th November and haven't heard back. The paperwork should have arrived ahead of the deadline now that they've closed applications. Just for comparison, my RSA application with Principality went very smoothly. Applied same day as Monmouthshire BS and all the paperwork has come through earlier in the week.

Thanks.

kfm

@bd10 I sent off an application for the Christmas Saver on the November 23rd or 24th. I got a letter back earlier this week to say the account was open. The letter from them was dated November 30th. They haven't cashed the cheque yet though.

Band7

bd10 said:

Hi all,

Has anyone experience with Monmouthshire BS processing time of savings account applications? I sent my paper application for their shiny Xmas saver bonds by mail on 27th November and haven't heard back. The paperwork should have arrived ahead of the deadline now that they've closed applications. Just for comparison, my RSA application with Principality went very smoothly. Applied same day as Monmouthshire BS and all the paperwork has come through earlier in the week.

Thanks.

There is a lot about this in this thread if you read back. Bottom line: patience. Or give up. Your choice.

surreysaver

Band7 said:

bd10 said:

Hi all,

Has anyone experience with Monmouthshire BS processing time of savings account applications? I sent my paper application for their shiny Xmas saver bonds by mail on 27th November and haven't heard back. The paperwork should have arrived ahead of the deadline now that they've closed applications. Just for comparison, my RSA application with Principality went very smoothly. Applied same day as Monmouthshire BS and all the paperwork has come through earlier in the week.

Thanks.

There is a lot about this in this thread if you read back. Bottom line: patience. Or give up. Your choice.

Or go to Wales

subjecttocontract

Sent mine to Monmouth on 26/11.....I'm not surprised I haven't heard......in fact expected long delay.
* They are swamped with applications.
* Postal strike 30/11 & 1/12
Might hear something mid December.....if I'm lucky.

MDMD

Re Monmouthshire Christmas RS, my cheque was cashed yesterday (posted it off the day it got launched but due to the postal strike didn’t go for a couple of days). So expect a letter in a day or so….hopefully 

liamcov

where_are_we said:

OK lianmcov - you asked for it - "peep"!