Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Nvidia Numero Uno in Count Down to President Donald Pump Election Victory - 5th Nov 24
Trump or Harris - Who Wins US Presidential Election 2024 Forecast Prediction - 5th Nov 24
Stock Market Brief in Count Down to US Election Result 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Gold Stocks’ Winter Rally 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Why Countdown to U.S. Recession is Underway - 3rd Nov 24
Stock Market Trend Forecast to Jan 2025 - 2nd Nov 24
President Donald PUMP Forecast to Win US Presidential Election 2024 - 1st Nov 24
At These Levels, Buying Silver Is Like Getting It At $5 In 2003 - 28th Oct 24
Nvidia Numero Uno Selling Shovels in the AI Gold Rush - 28th Oct 24
The Future of Online Casinos - 28th Oct 24
Panic in the Air As Stock Market Correction Delivers Deep Opps in AI Tech Stocks - 27th Oct 24
Stocks, Bitcoin, Crypto's Counting Down to President Donald Pump! - 27th Oct 24
UK Budget 2024 - What to do Before 30th Oct - Pensions and ISA's - 27th Oct 24
7 Days of Crypto Opportunities Starts NOW - 27th Oct 24
The Power Law in Venture Capital: How Visionary Investors Like Yuri Milner Have Shaped the Future - 27th Oct 24
This Points To Significantly Higher Silver Prices - 27th Oct 24
US House Prices Trend Forecast 2024 to 2026 - 11th Oct 24
US Housing Market Analysis - Immigration Drives House Prices Higher - 30th Sep 24
Stock Market October Correction - 30th Sep 24
The Folly of Tariffs and Trade Wars - 30th Sep 24
Gold: 5 principles to help you stay ahead of price turns - 30th Sep 24
The Everything Rally will Spark multi year Bull Market - 30th Sep 24
US FIXED MORTGAGES LIMITING SUPPLY - 23rd Sep 24
US Housing Market Free Equity - 23rd Sep 24
US Rate Cut FOMO In Stock Market Correction Window - 22nd Sep 24
US State Demographics - 22nd Sep 24
Gold and Silver Shine as the Fed Cuts Rates: What’s Next? - 22nd Sep 24
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks:Nothing Can Topple This Market - 22nd Sep 24
US Population Growth Rate - 17th Sep 24
Are Stocks Overheating? - 17th Sep 24
Sentiment Speaks: Silver Is At A Major Turning Point - 17th Sep 24
If The Stock Market Turn Quickly, How Bad Can Things Get? - 17th Sep 24
IMMIGRATION DRIVES HOUSE PRICES HIGHER - 12th Sep 24
Global Debt Bubble - 12th Sep 24
Gold’s Outlook CPI Data - 12th Sep 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Best Cash ISA Savings Accounts- Northern Rock Fixed Rates- July 2008

Personal_Finance / ISA's Jul 30, 2008 - 11:51 AM GMT

By: Shahla_Walayat

Personal_Finance

Best Financial Markets Analysis Article

Three bank of interest rate cuts have taken rates down to 5% from 5.75% and savers are still enjoying excellent Cash ISA savings interest rates courtesy of the ongoing credit crunch. However as the UK economy slows towards a possible there will be further cuts in UK interest rates and therefore cash ISA savings rates have started to decline from recent heady rates which in some cases passed 6.5%.


As per my previous articles over the last 9 months, the current interest rate climate still favors fixed rate savings of 2 or more years over instant access accounts as a UK recession could see interest rates sharply lower a year from now.

Selection of the Current Best Cash ISA accounts (July 08)

Financial Institution Interest Rate Fixed Period Minimum £ Comments
Ruffler Bank 6.25% 30 day £3,600 Have gradually cut their minimum from 15k to 9k and now to 3.6k
Principality 6% Instant £1 Keep a sharp eye out for any change in rates.
Nationwide 6.15% 1 year £1 Longer fixes at same rate available
Halifax 6% 4 years £500 The rate has been cut from 6.20%
Northern Rock 6.30% 1 year £500 Probably the safest Place for your money as the bank is now owned by the government. Also offers fixes for 2 and 3 years.
Abbey Direct ISA 6% 1 year £1 Rate has been cut by 0.25%
Barclays Tax Haven ISA 6.25% Instant £1 Includes a 1% bonus for 12months - No Transfer in. rate has been cut from 6.50%. Barclays customer service has proved poor in handling account openings.

 

Best of the above:

Instant Access

Many Instant access accounts such as Kent Reliance and National Savings have left the table due to the impact of rate cuts. However Barclays re-enters the arena with an excellent 6.25% instant access account. The only problem here is Barclays lack of competency observed in opening accounts, which does not seem to have improved from last years. An alternative would be Ruffler's 30day notice account, as Ruffler do consistently offer a good rate relative to the market.

Fixed Rates

The UK treasury backed Northern Rock bank offers the best cash ISA at 6.30% with multiple fix options of 1, 2 or 3 years. This is a market beater and therefore it may not stay on the market for much longer.

Summary of Cash ISA Rules & Benefits

  • The CASH ISA accounts are TAX FREE, and do not have to be entered onto any tax returns. The equivalent taxable return on a 6% cash ISA for standard rate tax payers is 7.2%. For higher rate tax payers it is 8.4%.
  • The income from tax ISA's does not count against many mean tested benefits such as Tax Credits.
  • The Allowance for 2008-09 is £3600.
  • You can only open ONE New cash ISA per tax year, and you can add new monies to One Cash ISA per tax year (see transfers).
  • You do not have to open a Cash ISA with your existing provider, i.e. you can open an account at different providers every year.
  • Most providers allow for transfers in. And ALL should allow you to transfer out.
  • Once you withdraw from a Cash ISA you cannot then then re-deposit into. The £3600 limit refers to total deposited, and not maximum account balance. So if you deposit £3600, and withdraw £1000, then you cannot re-deposit that £1000 in the same tax year as you have used up your £3600 deposit limit.
  • To maximize your tax free interest, it is best to open your account at the start of the tax year.
  • Ability to transfer Cash ISA monies into Shares ISA's but NOT from Shares ISA's to Cash ISA's.

By Shahla Walayat
http://www.moneyforums.co.uk

Copyright © http://www.moneyforums.co.uk 2008 - All Rights Reserved

Moneyforums.co.uk is a FREE site which provides UK Money Saving Guides, Tools and Forums including - Credit Score Calculator and the Savings Calculator . Mortgage and Tax Calculators. Money Saving Guides such as Credit Card Stoozing , Savings Tree , Money Saving Guide. Personal Finance Discussion Forums open to ALL, supported by experienced moderators, to discuss any personal finance topics from The best Savings & Deposit Accounts , Regular Savers and Cash ISA's and more.

This article maybe reproduced if it is reprinted in its entirety with links to http://www.moneyforums.co.uk

Disclaimer - Moneyforums.co.uk does not guarantee the accuracy of the information provided, and does not accept any liability for its accuracy, which is for general information purposes only as a starting point for your own research.

Shahla Walayat Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in