Martin Lewis has urged savers to consider two “massive best buy” savings accounts that come with certain major advantages.
The financial journalist spoke on his BBC podcast about NS&I’s Guaranteed Growth Bonds and Guaranteed Income Bonds, which currently pay a leading 6.2 percent.
He said the top-paying accounts, which have a fixed rate for a year, are “more than the best buy fix for any other length of time, whether you’re fixing for five years or six months.”
A person can save up to £1million into the accounts and they have the key advantage that a person’s savings will be protected as the scheme is Government backed.
Mr Lewis explained: “When you put money in a UK regulated savings account, you’re protected by the UK financial services compensation scheme, up to £85,000 per person, per financial institution.
“But with NS&I, because every penny saved is backed by the Treasury, whatever you have in there has the same level of safety.”
He said the accounts may be ideal for a person who has a large amount of cash because they recently sold a property but they are waiting for house prices to come down before buying another property.
A person in this situation may have to otherwise spread the money from the house sale into several different accounts to avoid going over the £85,000 protection limit.
For The Growth Bonds, a person is paid interest at the end of the term, while for the Income Bonds, the interest is paid each month.
A person can apply online on the NS&I website and there is the option to invest in the Bonds jointly.
A customer can cancel the Bonds within 30 days of receiving confirmation for them. The saver will be refunded any money as well as any interest earned, within 14 days of cancellation.
Mr Lewis urged savers to act quickly as he said the account may only be available for a couple of weeks.
He also noted in another strange occurrence, the top-paying accounts for fixed rates and for easy access are both big names, as Santander currently offers 5.2 percent with its Easy Access Saver Limited Edition.
A person can open this account with as little as £1 with interest paid monthly.
The Martin Lewis podcast is available on BBC Sounds.
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