Savings advice for elderly parents following house sale

Claudine.west

Hi, my parents are 83 and 88 respectively and are in the process of selling their bungalow and will be moving into a retirement complex next week. They will have £220,000 to invest. I've suggested 3 x different easy access savings accounts but wondered if there are any other options? 

They do not like internet banking and prefer to go into banks/building societies to speak to cashiers face to face when dealing with their money. I am trying to find different options to present to them to help them decide how to deal with this large amount of money.

Thank you 

Linton

Are they buying a flat in the retirement complex or renting and living off the proceeds of the sale?  If the former, for how long will they need to store the money?  If the latter will they need ongoing (monthly?) income from the £220000? How much income will they need?

Claudine.west

They are buying the flat and have enough income to pay for their day to day living. The £220,000 is savings which needs to be deposited somewhere. They will need easy access to part of it but not all if it x

Brie

what about putting some in premium bonds??  just for fun!

then I'd be putting half in a 12 month minimum deposit account of some sort to get some decent interest.  And the other half in something a bit more accessible should they find they need something for a special occasion, holiday or whatever.

Linton

They could consider simply putting it in NS&I accounts - perhaps the maximum for each in  Premium Bonds to give a monthly bit of excitement and say a Direct Saver for the rest.

OK it's not the best interest around but:
 -  it would appear they dont need a high interest rate
 - 100% guaranteed by the government for the full amount
 - all the money could be lodged permanently in the same place
 - no need for multiple accounts with multiple providers changing every few years
 - zero ongoing management
 - they will probably have heard of National Savings.

Albermarle

They will have £220,000 to invest.

Invest is usually taken to mean, investing in stocks and shares etc.

So to avoid potential misunderstandings, best to say they have £200K they want to save.

mebu60

2 x £50k in premium bonds. Quoted ave is going up to 4.0% Realistic to expect 3.5% tax free (I am just over that year to date with no individual prize > £100). Wins will land in their bank account(s) each month.
Bear in mind FSCS protection limit of £80k. Double for joint account. £50k in 1 year / 18 month bond. £70k in easy access account. 

mebu60

With apologies to Brie. Started reply earlier, interrupted by phone call.
Great minds . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Claudine.west

Thanks for your replies. I’ve got some premium bonds and had already thought it would be a good idea for them to buy some for themselves. Checking the app on the first of the month is certainly fun isn’t it! 

wmb194

Linton said:

They could consider simply putting it in NS&I accounts - perhaps the maximum for each in  Premium Bonds to give a monthly bit of excitement and say a Direct Saver for the rest.

OK it's not the best interest around but:
 -  it would appear they dont need a high interest rate
 - 100% guaranteed by the government for the full amount
 - all the money could be lodged permanently in the same place
 - no need for multiple accounts with multiple providers changing every few years
 - zero ongoing management
 - they will probably have heard of National Savings.

And/or NS&I Income Bonds rather than the Direct Saver. Same rate, also easy access but interest paid away every month to a nominated current account. Having some cash flowing from it might save some aggravation around making withdrawals.

Expotter

NS&I accounts are guaranteed to any amount, but still have to be managed remotely though (online, phone or post). So depending on where they live, there might be some local options at better rates.
You should also check their tax situation to find whether they'd have to pay any tax on savings interest, if they would then ISAs and premium bonds might be better options.