Savings Account Advice

[lainiej]

My family has inherited a quite large sum of money from my late Mum. I'm thinking of putting it in a decent interest bank account until we are in a position to share it out. Any suggestions please? TIA

[New Judge]

"I'm thinking of putting it in a decent interest bank account..."

If you find one, could you let me know! :-)

[fiction-factory]

You may get a shade over 2% pa on a large sum if you tie it up for 2-3 years, but if you may need it in a few months maybe 1.5% pa is the best you can get.

[New Judge]

On a more serious note, I don't want to know how much you're talking about but bear in mind that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme only provides protection up to £85k (or twice that for a joint account). Also bear in mind that many banks share a FSCS licence and only provide £85k protection for the total held under one licence.

[TonyV]

Lain how long will it be on account until you need it shared out plus roughly how much are u talking about? Can't give you any sensible advice with this info.

[Gizmonster]

Sensible advice already given ...... it all depends on whether the amount is over £85k and how long you're looking at investing for??

[Guilbert53]

Many of the best paying accounts are high st current accounts, though it does mean putting a bit in each

Open a Santander 123 Current Account and put £20,000 in that to get 1.5%. You get even more if you set up all your direct debits to go from that account.

I get around £30 or £35 a month interest on my account.

https://www.santander.co.uk/uk/current-accounts/123-current-account

Open a Nationwide FlexDirect current account and get 5% on the first £2,500 (as long as you pay in £1,000 each month)

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/flexdirect/features-and-benefits

Open a NatWest Savings Builder account and put £10,000 in that and get 1.5% (you have to put £50 in each month)

https://personal.natwest.com/personal/_compare_savings_accounts/_savings_builder.html

Open a Santander Regular ESaver account put £200 a month for a year and get 3% on that.

https://www.santander.co.uk/uk/savings/regular-esaver

Open a Nationwide Flex Regular Online Saver and put in £250 a month for a year and get 5% on that

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/savings/flex-regular-online-saver/features-and-benefits

I know this is a bit of hassle but they beat many of the normal "instant release" savings accounts that pay less than 1%

[Rev. Green]

You would need agreement with the eventual recipients, but you could consider putting SOME - not all - of the money into Zopa or Ratesetter. Ratesetter is giving about 6% today for a five year rolling loan. You lose 1.5% if you need instant access. The important point is that your capital is not protected. Nobody has yet lost any money with Ratesetter, but there is no guarantee what will happen in the future. Definitely, a gamble.

[hc4361]

Guilbert, Santander pays £25 a month maximum, less £5 a month admin fee,

[AuntLydia]

I would have thought the money would have to stay in the solicitors client account before it was shared out.

[fiction-factory]

Is there a solicitor involved then, AL? lainiej could just be an executor.
I'm not sure why the sharing out can't be done quickly though if the money is available unless teh executor needs to sort out some debts and wants to wait maybe 6 months to see if any unexpected claims are made

[fiction-factory]

guilbert- the Santander regular saver pays 5% if you hold a 123 accoun, but as you need to drip feed the money in the effective rate is as little as half of that unless you can invest it elsewhere until needed.
But still all this is academic as we don't know whether we are talking about £5000 or £500000 and how long before the money needs to be accessed. If the amounts are large or the executor is 40% tax payer then tax on interest needs to be considered too.

[fiction-factory]

^Although, if we ever have to use the FCS scheme for a major institution then I think we'd be in such a bad state that I am not sure we could rely on the compensation being paid

[lainiej]

So sorry for the late response...
Christmas and that.
The amount is well under the 85k mentioned.
I am the executor of the will and as such I've been able to close Mams Santander current account and transfer everything into a new account in my name
There are only 5 beneficiaries all close family.
We don't to divide everything up until we have the sale of the house and car included
Thank you all so much for your replies

[lainiej]

Fyi the amount is currently 20k which between 5 of us doesn't seem a vast sum but once the house and car are sold we'll know what we've inherited
I'm not wanting to invest..just look after our legacy in the best way possible

[Peter Pedant]

there are nt any
Santander 123 has a monfly charge and also highish interest.

Santander is run by a svelte morena who said
'zee days of free banking are over baybee'

do the IHT and probate as quick as poss
so those members of your family who say
' you should be getting free per cent per monf!' are off your hands along with their unreasonable demands

[clearly I have had experience of this]

[Peter Pedant]

// I would have thought the money would have to stay in the solicitors client account before it was shared out.//

is the answer to - "do solicitors hang onto money for as long as possible?" - and not where can I get a decent rate of interest.

on the facts - you are trustee of the money and so
you SHOULDN'T really gamble with it - but go into something solid ( and low) - I suppose it is different if all your siblings agree which I can tell you they wont
[ will want high interest wivvart the risk ]

[Tilly2]

I'd buy Premium Bonds with my share.