The Top Regular Savers Discussion Thread

allegro120

twadds123 said:

Seen a few people discussing "renewing" the skipton members saver, currently @7%.

By renewing I presume you mean closing the existing one and opening a new one at the current issue before they potentially change the interest rate on the next issue?

Question though, is it worth it?  right now i've got £2000 in that account, is it not best to leave that there and be earning interest on the larger amounts over the next few months than start again?

or is the believe that the drop in rate on the next offer might be so much to offset that?

any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Skipton RS.
I've "renewed" mine in November because I thought the interest rate will be soon reduced.  I was wrong, my RS would have matured today and the interest rate is still the same 7% for new applications. It wasn't worth it and I would've been in a better position if I didn't "renew".

Bridlington1

trickydicky14 said:

twadds123 said:

Seen a few people discussing "renewing" the skipton members saver, currently @7%.

By renewing I presume you mean closing the existing one and opening a new one at the current issue before they potentially change the interest rate on the next issue?

Question though, is it worth it?  right now i've got £2000 in that account, is it not best to leave that there and be earning interest on the larger amounts over the next few months than start again?

or is the believe that the drop in rate on the next offer might be so much to offset that?

any thoughts greatly appreciated.

I'm in the same position, 2k saved. The thing is if I closed it at best I would put the cash into an EA saver paying no more than 4.75% and who knows, that could soon go down. So a bit of a gamble.

I opened my 7% Skipton RS at the end of May 2024 (I refreshed my 7.5% one a day early so that I could get the full benefit of issue 3) so currently have £2,250 in my account. FWIW I've opted not to refresh the account and intend to let the account run till it matures in May.

Aside from the reasons I chose to not close my 7.5% regular saver early to secure the 7% regular saver a year ago, I'm also set to go over the PSA this tax year so ideally could do with the interest paid next tax year. If I refresh now I'm getting a chunk of interest paid this tax year that I could've got paid next tax year whilst simultaneously missing out on the final few months of the regular saver and instead putting the money in lower rate accounts at a time when I've already got a surplus of funds due to Furness BS's Christmas RS maturing anyway.

happybagger

I did the same with my Skipton Members RS in May '24 with the same debate. I think we are less likely to see rate drops than most commentators due to inflation this year so will also leave mine to May. Skipton like to do at least one Member account and I will take a gamble at this one being the one they offer.

Curious though @Bridlington1 do you think that you'll be in the same PSA/taxed interest situation in 12 months time? I have no doubt you have already out some "dummy" figures and dates down for interest to 04/26, in the same way I have, but any new 12 month RS accounts like what may come from Furness this week could alter things.

My calculations are more complex as I also use the 'starting rate' of 0%

Essex123

happybagger said:

Essex123 said:

@happybagger I had a dig through some old papers!

I’d opened a deposit account with the Nottingham at their (long gone) London ‘broom cupboard’ on Jermyn Street.  On 26/08/1998 they sent me a letter offering to convert my Personal Deposit into the share version - Access Plus.  Obviously I accepted!

National Counties wrote to me on 28th August 1998 also offering to convert my Direct Access Deposit to a Direct Access Share.  The stinger here was that they also required a minimum deposit of £2500 on the Share version.  So this one I refused and only became a member at a later date.

Such a shame all the old threads from Carpetbagger.com and Rpoints were lost, would be fun to look back now at some of the games we played!

Yes it was a change as part of the BS Act of 1997. I didn't have any money until 1999 when I started bagging. Reg Savers were not a thing then. As the societies found ways to "get their way" without member approval, I started to debag, which was a mistake, as it made things simpler to open accounts when they became available. Progressive's RS account being the most recent. I retained Vernon as it was my hardest 'bag', so their 6.5% account was easy. I kicked myself for missing out on Leek BS when theirs was top paying but members (or locals) only.

The tale is to retain a membership account just in case, particularly if the balance can be minimal. Modern day bagging 

I kept all of mine and some have been completely useless but others - like Vernon, Cambridge and Tipton - have had their purposes from time to time.  Many for Reg Savers but sometimes ISAs too.

The only one I don’t have now is Cumberland.  I had a fixed rate bond with them in the naughties but when it matured they would only roll it over if I upped the deposit from £2k to £10k and I didn’t have the funds.

I still see their Regular Saver mentioned here from time to time and momentarily get excited.  I think at some stage they will open up more broadly - the leadership seems quite ambitious and have been investing for a couple of years in a new platform.  Not that I expect a windfall from any of them - but I’d still grab Cumberland just to complete the set!

Bridlington1

happybagger said:

I did the same with my Skipton Members RS in May '24 with the same debate. I think we are less likely to see rate drops than most commentators due to inflation this year so will also leave mine to May. Skipton like to do at least one Member account and I will take a gamble at this one being the one they offer.

Curious though @Bridlington1 do you think that you'll be in the same PSA/taxed interest situation in 12 months time? I have no doubt you have already out some "dummy" figures and dates down for interest to 04/26, in the same way I have, but any new 12 month RS accounts like what may come from Furness this week could alter things.

My calculations are more complex as I also use the 'starting rate' of 0%

My tax position is fairly straightforward in that I'm currently a 20% taxpayer with no starting rate available to me so have the £1k PSA and shall likely remain in this position for the time being.

I'm going over the PSA this tax year so it would make sense to push interest into the next tax year. After that I'll probably end up in a similar but less extreme position again next year due to having a fair few regular savers set to mature next tax year so am planning to push some interest into the 2026-7 tax year, after that I should be fine tax-wise. 

OneUser1

Essex123 said:

happybagger said:

Essex123 said:

@happybagger I had a dig through some old papers!

I’d opened a deposit account with the Nottingham at their (long gone) London ‘broom cupboard’ on Jermyn Street.  On 26/08/1998 they sent me a letter offering to convert my Personal Deposit into the share version - Access Plus.  Obviously I accepted!

National Counties wrote to me on 28th August 1998 also offering to convert my Direct Access Deposit to a Direct Access Share.  The stinger here was that they also required a minimum deposit of £2500 on the Share version.  So this one I refused and only became a member at a later date.

Such a shame all the old threads from Carpetbagger.com and Rpoints were lost, would be fun to look back now at some of the games we played!

Yes it was a change as part of the BS Act of 1997. I didn't have any money until 1999 when I started bagging. Reg Savers were not a thing then. As the societies found ways to "get their way" without member approval, I started to debag, which was a mistake, as it made things simpler to open accounts when they became available. Progressive's RS account being the most recent. I retained Vernon as it was my hardest 'bag', so their 6.5% account was easy. I kicked myself for missing out on Leek BS when theirs was top paying but members (or locals) only.

The tale is to retain a membership account just in case, particularly if the balance can be minimal. Modern day bagging 

I kept all of mine and some have been completely useless but others - like Vernon, Cambridge and Tipton - have had their purposes from time to time.  Many for Reg Savers but sometimes ISAs too.

The only one I don’t have now is Cumberland.  I had a fixed rate bond with them in the naughties but when it matured they would only roll it over if I upped the deposit from £2k to £10k and I didn’t have the funds.

I still see their Regular Saver mentioned here from time to time and momentarily get excited.  I think at some stage they will open up more broadly - the leadership seems quite ambitious and have been investing for a couple of years in a new platform.  Not that I expect a windfall from any of them - but I’d still grab Cumberland just to complete the set!

I am not 100% certain this would work but could you open a Cumberland Building Society Cumberland Plus Current Account, which seems to be open to all but requires funding of at least £750 per month, and then open the Monthly Saver after that? 

Bridlington1

OneUser1 said:

Essex123 said:

happybagger said:

Essex123 said:

@happybagger I had a dig through some old papers!

I’d opened a deposit account with the Nottingham at their (long gone) London ‘broom cupboard’ on Jermyn Street.  On 26/08/1998 they sent me a letter offering to convert my Personal Deposit into the share version - Access Plus.  Obviously I accepted!

National Counties wrote to me on 28th August 1998 also offering to convert my Direct Access Deposit to a Direct Access Share.  The stinger here was that they also required a minimum deposit of £2500 on the Share version.  So this one I refused and only became a member at a later date.

Such a shame all the old threads from Carpetbagger.com and Rpoints were lost, would be fun to look back now at some of the games we played!

Yes it was a change as part of the BS Act of 1997. I didn't have any money until 1999 when I started bagging. Reg Savers were not a thing then. As the societies found ways to "get their way" without member approval, I started to debag, which was a mistake, as it made things simpler to open accounts when they became available. Progressive's RS account being the most recent. I retained Vernon as it was my hardest 'bag', so their 6.5% account was easy. I kicked myself for missing out on Leek BS when theirs was top paying but members (or locals) only.

The tale is to retain a membership account just in case, particularly if the balance can be minimal. Modern day bagging 

I kept all of mine and some have been completely useless but others - like Vernon, Cambridge and Tipton - have had their purposes from time to time.  Many for Reg Savers but sometimes ISAs too.

The only one I don’t have now is Cumberland.  I had a fixed rate bond with them in the naughties but when it matured they would only roll it over if I upped the deposit from £2k to £10k and I didn’t have the funds.

I still see their Regular Saver mentioned here from time to time and momentarily get excited.  I think at some stage they will open up more broadly - the leadership seems quite ambitious and have been investing for a couple of years in a new platform.  Not that I expect a windfall from any of them - but I’d still grab Cumberland just to complete the set!

I am not 100% certain this would work but could you open a Cumberland Building Society Cumberland Plus Current Account, which seems to be open to all but requires funding of at least £750 per month, and then open the Monthly Saver after that? 

Sadly not, the Cumberland Building Society Cumberland Plus Current Account is only available to those living in their operating area (Cumbria (all CA and LA postcodes), South-West Scotland (all DG postcodes and TD9), West Northumberland (NE45-49), North Lancashire (all PR, FY, LA AND BB1-2 and BB5-7)) unless you're an existing customer.

happybagger

Current accounts are only available to those in their operating area too.

"New customers must live within our operating area to open a Current or Savings Account"

Their other account only requires funding £200 pm or a £2 fee

I guess there are some wealthy types who they've let stay with them having left the area given this appears in their 2024 Annual Report:

"The Society continues to be well funded by its retail depositors, the great majority of whom are located in its branch operating area"

Bridlington1

YBS to launch a Christmas 2025 regular saver on Wed 15/1/25
5% var
£150/MTH max
Matures 31/10/25

EDIT:
Account allows 1 withdrawal day per year plus closure.

flaneurs_lobster

Bridlington1 said:

YBS to launch a Christmas 2025 regular saver on Wed 15/1/25
5% var
£150/MTH max
Matures 31/10/25

Not exactly "punch the air and shout Whoop!" is it. Will this be as good as it gets from other providers going forward?