Savings News

From today, Raisin UK is changing how the bonus structure on its savings accounts works, which could result in savers earning up to £50 simply by opening a savings account.
Under the new bonus structure, savers depositing £75,000 and over can earn a £50 bonus, those depositing £40,000 - £74,999 can earn £25, a deposit of £10,000 - £39,999 can earn £10 and those depositing £5,000 - £9,999 can earn £5. There is no bonus offered on deposits of less than £5,000.

As well as this, Raisin UK is allowing a grace period for customers depositing between £5,000 - £9,999, who will be worse off with this new bonus structure. The automatic grace period allows anyone who funds their first savings account with the amount of £5,000 - £9,999 by the 31 August 2020 to receive a £10 bonus instead of the new bonus of £5.

Bonuses are offered to those opening their first Raisin UK account and the account must be opened via its website.

The savings charts have remained fairly stable this week and savers looking for a fixed rate bond will be pleased to see that all of last week’s top rates have remained available in the charts. As well as this, the highly competitive easy access account from National Savings & Investments remains available in this week’s chart. While the savings charts seem to have become more stable over the last few weeks, the economic climate still remains uncertain and savers should act quickly if they want to secure the best rates.

Over the last few weeks, it seems that the rates at the top of the fixed rate ISA charts have become more stable, with many of last week’s top rates remaining available this week. As well as this, the top rates in last week’s easy access ISA chart are still topping the chart this week and the chart has been strengthened by a new higher-paying second-best rate being available. Saying this, savers looking to secure the best rates should act quickly, as the continuing economic uncertainty means that the top ISA rates may not be available for long.

Savers should note that the rates below are the best rates available at 5pm on Thursday 6 August 2020 and, although correct at the time of publishing, they may not be available after this time.

The numbers of people searching for buy-to-let in the UK has seen an increase of more than 2.5 times from the end of March to mid-July, according to Google trends data. As the economic outlook for the Autumn continues to remain bleak and with the expectation of further job losses to come, those saving for retirement may be concerned about another stock market shock and reductions in value to their pensions and investments. Investing in property during difficult economic times is often seen as a safer option with the security of owning a physical asset.
With more people looking at buy-to-let to generate a return on their funds, we explore how investing in property compares to a pension and where to find the best buy-to-let mortgages.