Mortgage rates have been falling since last November, but in order to fund the cuts savings rates have been falling too, according to the latest research from Moneyfacts.

The largest rate reductions have been on fixed-rate bonds. One year bonds have seen their average rate drop by 0.65% in the last four months, while four and five year bonds have dropped by 0.60% and 0.55% respectively.

The Barclays Golden ISA issue 2  is a variable rate savings account, paying 3.10% AER, including a 1% bonus for the first 12 months. It allows instant penalty-free access, but does not permit transfers in - so those looking for a better deal on their existing ISA balances will be disappointed to have been frozen out.

An even better rate is available on the Santander, which pays 3.5% on the same terms.

The amount of money the population is saving has decreased this winter to its lowest level for more than two years, according to NS&I's Savings Survey.

On average, the British public is now setting aside 6.25% of monthly take-home income. This figure has fallen consistently since this time last year (6.48%), and is at its lowest level since summer 2007 (6.22%). 

Leeds Building Society has launched a 5-year fixed-rate ISA paying 4.60% tax-free.

There is also unlimited access to 25% of the amount invested at any time, without notice or penalty. The minimum opening balance is £1.

Santander and Alliance & Leicester have launched Flexible ISA, a variable-rate Cash ISA paying a minimum guaranteed rate of 3.50% AER for one year.

Flexible ISA guarantees to pay at least 3% above the Bank of England base rate for the first 12 months; and the rate will not fall below the minimum rate of 3.50% for the first 12-month period.

Northern Rock savers will lose the government's 100% guarantee on their deposits on 24 May, it was announced today.

The guarantee has been in place since 2007, when the government was struggling to halt a run on the bank.

Birmingham Midshires today launched a four-year fixed rate postal bond, with a minimum investment of £1. Interest is 4.50% yearly (4.41% monthly).

Earlier access is permitted on 320 days’ loss of interest in year one, 270 days in year two, 180 days in year three and 90 days in year four.

One in 25 motorists polled by esure are planning to pick up a new ‘10’ plate car from 1 March, but failing to haggle and check out both financing and insurance costs could leave them considerably out of pocket.

The research commissioned by esure car insurance reveals that, despite having only just come out of recession, nearly a third (33%) of motorists polled would not consider haggling on their next car purchase – even though hefty savings could be made.

Twenty-eight to forty year olds are so consumed with nostalgia for their youth that they are neglecting to save for their future, according to a report entitled ‘The Re-Run Generation', published today 4 February by Standard Life.

Only 53% of the so-called Re-Runners are saving for their future. And only just under one in three (29%) of those questioned for the survey admitted to feeling anxious (22%) or filled with fear (8%) about growing up and getting older.

Falling interest rates on savings over the past 18 months have been bad news for people on modest fixed incomes. These record low rates made ISA benefits barely worthwhile, and made it almost impossible to find a savings account that keeps pace with inflation.

Save Our Savers (SOS), an organisation that will lobby for a better deal for savers, will be launched tomorrow, Tuesday.

SOS proposes to draw attention to the lack of accounts that offer a decent return to savers, while criticising poor products and a general lack of incentives to save.

Companies that advertise on televison encouraging people to sell their unwanted gold by post are offering consumers shockingly bad value and should be avoided, reveals a new investigation by consumer champion Which?.

Yorkshire' building society members have already saved more than £3m in the Society's Christmas Saver account - launched earlier this month - which pays a fixed interest rate of 3.50% gross/AER.

The account will be withdrawn at close of business on Saturday 30 January. 

Almost three-quarters (72.5%) of the most consistent savings accounts are offered by building societies, according to the January 2010 Moneyfacts Consistency Survey.

National Counties has the most consistent products, with five in the tables.

Leeds Building Society has launched new fixed-rate ISAs paying up to seven times the current Bank of England Base Rate.

They are a 3-year fixed-rate ISA at 3.50% and a 2 -year fixed-rate ISA at 3.00%.

The Nationwide Savings Index by four points in December, with a sharper drop of 12 points for the Importance of Savings Index.

Consumers saw saving money as less important than in previous months, with Christmas shopping and  the upcoming VAT increase as likely factors in people seeing saving as less important.

Coventry Building Society today launched the third issue of its 1st Class Postal account, offering 3.30% (variable) plus the flexibility of easy postal access. Savers can make four penalty-free withdrawals (minimum £1,000) each year.

The rate includes a 1.30% AER bonus during the first year of investment.

Yorkshire Building Society this week launched a new Fixed Rate Cash ISA paying 3.25% pa/AER and maturing in February 2013.

The new tax-free savings account also offers a monthly interest option for those who rely on their savings for income.

Friends Provident has come up with ten savings tips for the New Year, to encourage people to start planning now for retirement. Here they are:

1 Check how much you have currently saved for retirement. Talk to your IFA or pension scheme provider(s) to get information, and if you have had more than one employer you should track down what pension entitlements you may have earned from your time in employment. Many company pensions are provided through specialist providers who you can contact directly about the benefits you may have earned. It's also vital to understand what form any company pensions take - are they defined benefit schemes where the amount you will receive is ‘guaranteed', or defined contribution schemes, where the pension that will be paid is based on the value of your investments when you come to retire? Understanding what you have earned so far is a big step towards saving enough for retirement.

Vernon BS has launched a fixed-term cash ISA, maturing on 28 February 2011, with a minimum investment of £1,000, paying 3.25% on maturity.

No earlier access or additions are permitted, but transfers out are allowed without penalty.

The Icelandic parliament has approved a plan to repay €3.8bn (£3.4bn) to British and Dutch savers, more than 320,000 of whom lost out when the Icesave online bank collapsed in 2008.

The money, - which represents 40% of the Iceland’s gross domestic product, will be repaid gradually, staggered until 2024. It will go to the two governments, which partially compensated savers when the bank failed.

More than one in five parents have been borrowing from their children's savings accounts, with 44% of them borrowing between £200 and £500, according to a survey of 3,000 parents by child trust fund provider Engage Mutual Assurance.

Eighty two per cent of parents who admitted to borrowing claim the money they have taken is merely a loan, and they intend to pay it back as soon as they are a bit more flush.

Long-term fixed rate accounts will continue to offer savers the best returns in 2010, according to New Year predictions by finance information service Moneyfacts.

Although savings rates overall are expected to remain broadly unchanged on this year, it is thought fixed rate bonds and ISAs requiring savers to lock their money away for five years or more will still offer the highest rates.

Yesterday’s figures revealing that inflation increased by an annual rate of 1.9% in November were further bad news for savers.

According to research from Moneyfacts, the figures mean that the real return on an average no-notice savings account after basic tax and inflation now stands at minus 1.25%, the lowest since May this year.

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has pulled some of its most attractive accounts, less than two months after they were launched.

NS&I said the latest issues of its three and five-year fixed-rate guaranteed growth and income bonds, with interest rates of between 4.3% and 4.6%, had proved very popular since the rates were sharply increased in late October, and had now been withdrawn from sale, with immediate effect.

Fixed-rate savings have been by far the most competitive element of the savings market throughout 2009, but a number of top deals have been pulled over the past 10 days as a result of excessive demand, according to Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.

The list of casualties includes:

Yorkshire Bank has launched new rates of up to 5.10% on its Term Deposit account, aimed at people who want to put away a lump sum and don’t want to make any withdrawals or additional deposits.

A range of products are on offer, with terms from three months to five years. The minimum opening balance is £2,000 and the maximum £5m.

Britons believe they could last for 10 months on their savings if faced with the prospect of not working and receiving no income. In fact, according to The Reality Gap Report, out today, they could survive for just half that time, a mere five months.

While 43% of Britons think they could use their savings to pay the bills following redundancy, the reality is that 38% of the working population could not survive beyond one month on savings alone.

The main reason is that people believe their average monthly outgoings to be £892 - but the reality is £1,378 per month.

The Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) has launched a three-year bond with a fixed rate of 5%.

The first new product to be launched simultaneously by Britannia and The Co-operative Bank following their merger, the bond is available from today, 25 November, through the network of more than 300 branches.

Only one in six (17%) easy access savings accounts offer a rate guarantee, according to research from Sainsbury's Finance.

In addition, only 5% (24 accounts) promise to pay a rate above the Bank of England bank rate.

It’s no surprise to read reports that fixed-rate bonds have a relatively short lifespan at the moment, says Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.co.uk. He goes on:

“This is a symptom of a very active and competitive market and a desire amongst providers to retain best buy status in order to attract maximum levels of retail deposits.

Pensioners who have overpaid tax on their interest from savings could be eligible for a tax windfall, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announced today.

The possibility of some extra money for pensioners came as HMRC launched its TaxBack campaign, which aims to encourage pensioners who have overpaid tax on interest from savings to claim it back, and register for savings interest to be paid gross in future, if they're non-taxpayers.

Vernon Building Society has launched a new regular saver account. You can save up to £500 each month and also have the flexibility to adjust the amount of your monthly payment as long as it is between £25 and £500 each month.

The interest rate is variable, currently 3.00% AER, which includes an annual 2% conditional bonus.     The bonus will be applied providing that you have made no more than 2 withdrawals and missed no more than one monthly subscriptions during the period 1st April to 31st March, or from the date of opening the account to 31st March).

Low interest rates are playing havoc with the incomes of people, such as pensioners, who rely on their savings to maintain their standard of living. According to financial information service Moneyfacts, almost half of all variable rate savings accounts pay 0.5% interest or less – and some as little as 0.1%.

What is more, 10% of all savings accounts have cut their rates since March months, even though the Bank rate has remained at 0.5% for the whole of that time. A mere 3.5% of accounts have upped their rates rise during that time.

Following the merger of Britannia and The Co-operative Financial Services in August, savers can now open a choice of two Britannia fixed-rate ISAs in any branch of The Co-operative Bank.

The ISAs are the first Britannia products to be made available to Co-operative customers through Bank branches.  The Bank did not previously offer a fixed-rate product.

Cheshire Building Society, a trading division of Nationwide Building Society, has launched a 30 Day Postal Saver Account, offering a bonus rate of 3.00% gross/AER, on a minimum deposit of £1,000 for the first 12 months, providing a minimum balance of £1,000 is maintained and no more than four withdrawals are made during the first year.

If the bonus conditions are not met, a fixed rate of 0.10% gross /AER is payable for the lifetime of the account.

Savers looking to lock their money away for a short term will welcome the news that NS&I has today launched a one-year fixed-rate savings bond, paying 3.95% gross/AER.

This product has shot straight to the top of the one-year fixed rate bond best buys and is a full 0.20% higher than its nearest rival, says Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.co.uk.

The increase in the amount that can be saved in an individual savings account (ISAs) is one of the factors that will help people to save for the future, a leading financial services commentator believes.

Stephen Lansdown, a director of Hargreaves Lansdown, says the country has woken up to the fact that debts need to be repaid and that once indebtedness is reduced consumers will start to build up reserves.

Savers affected by the collapse in October 2008 of Icesave - the internet arm of Icelandic bank Landsbanki - have one last chance to claim compensation for any deposits they had in the bank.

About 400,000 savers were affected when Landsbanki collapsed.

All four of the Nationwide Savings indices have bounced back, following last month's falls. The Savings Index is now at its highest level since November 2008.

The most striking rise was in the Future Savings Index, which increased 16 points to 121. There are now more people who believe they will be saving more in six months' time than they do now (21%, an increase of 3% from August) than people who believe they will be saving less than they do now (17%, a decrease of 3% from August).

If someone over 50 invests the extra £3,000 ISA allowance in a UK corporate bond fund, paying an annual return of 5% before charges, they could add almost £40,000 to their savings pot over 10 years, and £150,340 after 25 years, according to Fidelity International.

In addition, Fidelity's analysis underlines how important it is to understand that an ISA keeps the taxman at bay. Outside an ISA the taxman is going to take part of the investor's return, inside an ISA he is not.

Individuals are to be encouraged to look after themselves financially and take more resposibility for their wellbeing, in an initiative launched today by the Association of British Insurers.

The ABI has lauched a Savings Manifesto, suggesting ways to boost pensions and other savings, including early automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, automatic increases in pension contributions and more flexibility on when people can buy annuities.

Savers need to keep an eye on the maturity dates of fixed-rate bonds, to make sure they keep on getting the best rate.

Once bonds mature providers will often shift money into a standard easy access savings account, so it's vital to keep an eye on your money and act when your original deal comes to an end.

The website moneysupermarket.com notes, for example, that savers who took out the five-year fixed-rate bond from Capital One back in 2004,will now see their interest rate drop by 5.1%, meaning a £15,000 deposit now earns £765 less per year in interest.

Principality Building Society's is offering a new 4-year fixed-rate bond, paying a guaranteed 5.10% AER.

The minimum investment is £1,000 and the maximum £250,000, and interest can be paid monthly or annually.

Saga is launching a two-year fixed-rate bond designed for the over-50s today, 6 October. It pays 3.85% AER on balances over £30,000 and 2.5% AER on balances under £30,000.

“Saga agrees that it is unacceptable for ISA providers to offer lower rates on products for over-50s than they offer on their standard ISA accounts,” said Paul Green, head of communications, Saga Personal Finance.

Nationwide Building Society will on 6 October launch a new three-year Fixed Rate ISA (FRISA) Bond, paying 4.00% gross p.a./AER, exclusively for savers aged 50 or over on or before 5 April 2010.

Savers aged 50 or over will be able to use their full new annual ISA allowance of £10,200.  This new limit is an increase of £3,000, and means that up to £5,100 can be saved in a cash ISA and the remaining balance in a stocks and shares ISA.

Around one in 10 UK adults with a Cash ISA (equivalent to 2.1m people) are planning to reduce the amount they put in, or stop regularly saving into, these tax-efficient wrappers over the next six to 12 months because the rates are so low, according to new research from Investec Private Bank.

A further 800,000 savers with a Cash ISA intend to close their account altogether over this period for the same reason.

Leeds Building Society has launched new 2-year base rate tracker (BRT) mortgages from 3.20%, together with a new 2-year non-locked-in fixed rate mortgage at  4.60%.

All the mortgages have no higher lending charge and allow a minimum of 10% capital repayments each year, without notice or penalty. 

A mere 5% of the over-50s know what the new ISA limits being introduced on 6 October will be, according to a study by Saga – which concludes that the Government and the savings and investment industry need to do more to inform people about the increase. 

  
ISA limits are being increased to £10,200 for the over-50s, but research conducted by the Saga Populus Panel, the largest research panel of over-50s in the UK, shows that over half (54%) have no idea what the new limits will be.

M&S Money is launching a new Fixed Rate Savings option from 1 October. Guaranteed interest rates of up to 4% AER/gross are available over 1, 2 and 3 years.

This is a limited offer and replaces the previous issue which offered rates up to 3.00% AER/gross.

Barclays today launches a new range of one, two and five-year fixed-rate bonds paying up to 5.25%.

The top paying bond is for five years paying 5.25% gross p.a./AER, with a minimum investment of £500.

For customers who want a shorter term, a two-year fixed-rate bond is available, paying up to 4.25% gross p.a./AER for balances above £40,000 and 3.75% gross p.a. for balances from £500.

Principality Building Society is launching a fixed-rate ISA designed for the over-50s are looking to make the most of the new higher tax-free savings allowances.  It pays 3.80% AER until June 2012.

The new ISA launches on 21 September and is available to anyone currently aged 50 or who will turn 50 before the end of the current ISA year on 5 April 2010.

Bradford & Bingley Savings launched a new Two-Year Fixed-Rate eBond today, paying 4.35% gross/AER.   This new rate is available for both new and existing customers via Bradford & Bingley online, with a deposit of between £10,000 and £2m. No withdrawals are allowed before 1 October 2011.

"We are committed to offering customers savings accounts with competitive rates that enable people to save and plan for their futures,” said Reza Attar-Zadeh, Director of Savings and Investments.

Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest banks are to slash their overdraft charges in advance of a decision of the new Supreme Court on whether or not the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can regulate these charges.

From next month customers of the two banks will be charged just £5 for having a cheque bounced, compared with £38 now. The fee for paying an item on an overdrawn account falls in half to £15.

Financial imprudence is linked to other impulsive behaviour such as overeating, smoking and infidelity, according to a new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers.

The study, conducted through the BBC website with more than 42,000 participants, and published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, measured people’s financial impulsiveness by asking whether they would they prefer to receive £45 in three days or £70 in three months.

As children celebrating their seventh bithday are due to receive their second payment, The Child Trust Fund (CTF), the Government's flagship policy to increase social mobility and alleviate child poverty, could be axed in a forthcoming squeeze on public expenditure. 

Savers who change their variable rate savings account on a regular basis are likely to get a better return than those who stay in the same account due to the fact that inertia and loyalty seem to reward the provider rather than the customer.

The average rate payable on an instant or easy access savings account for a £1,000 balance is currently 0.85% gross AER. The corresponding rate for such accounts that have been launched in 2009 is 1.93% gross AER as opposed to 0.68% gross AER for accounts launched before 2009.

Leeds Building Society has launched a monthly savings account aimed at helping the over-60s to manage the increased pressure on their finances during the winter months.

The new Winter Fuel Saver account pays 5.12% AER during the winter months (until 28 February 2010), when customers are experiencing their biggest fuel bills, with an overall AER of 2.66%. The minimum investment is £100, and the maximum £1m (£2m for joint accounts). No withdrawals are allowed until maturity on 1 September 2010.

In both cases the income is fixed and will be paid regardless of the performance of the index.

Sainsbury's Finance announced today that it would be extending its Internet Saver special offer by two weeks, until 5 September.

The special offer pays a rate of 2.9% Gross AER (variable) to customers opening an account with deposit balances from £1,000 up to £500,000 for 12 months from account opening.

NS&I (National Savings and Investments) is increasing the interest rates paid on some of its savings products from today (19 August), for the first time in up to two years.

Interest rates may be low, but there is a big gap between base rate and saving rates, and the outlook for inflation remains low. All of which means that there has never been a better time to save.

That is the view of moneysupermarket, the financial comparison website.

Join investment experts Neil Dwane, manager of the Allianz RCM European Equity Income Fund, and Andy Parsons, Advice team manager at The Share Centre, live from 12.30pm on Thursday 13 August to discuss ways for you to keep a hold of that income stream and to provide expert answers to your questions. So submit your questions now and come back and join Neil and Andy when we go live on 13 August.

An estimated 5,000 British savers who have up to £3bn in bank accounts in Liechtenstein will be encouraged to own up to their secret stash.

Sainsbury's Finance has announced a new Internet Saver special offer that will pay a rate of 2.9% Gross AER (variable) to customers opening an account with deposit balances from £1,000 to £500,000.

Those opening an account and funding it with at least £1,000 within 30 days will receive a bonus of 1,000 Nectar points

Scottish Widows Bank, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, today launched a 5-year fixed-rate deposit account, paying 5.25% gross/AER. term.

Start date is 23 September 2009 and the final maturity date is 22 September 2014. Funds received in advance of the start date will earn interest at Bank of England base rate (currently 0.50%) up to the start date.

The battle for retail funds shows no signs of abating, and today West Bromwich BS has stormed the best buy tables for fixed rate savings, says Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.co.uk.

The mutual is now the top payer over 1 year (3.90%), 2 Years (4.45%) and 5 Years (5.45%) for fixed-rate savings bonds.

This week Santander's UK savings brands - Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley - are launching new issue fixed-rate savings accounts paying up to 4.15%, available to both new and existing customers.

The top rate of 4.15% is payable on the two-year fixed-rate bond with an investment of £25,000-plus.

Of the 2,265 savings accounts available at the end of June, 55.3% had interest rates paying over the Bank of England Base Rate of 0.50%, according to the monthly Moneyfacts Treasury Report.

The period of preferred accessibility continued to be the biggest driver of returns for savers, as the average no-notice rate hovered around 0.80%, while the average one-year fixed rates paid 3.04%.

More and more lenders are launching accounts that restrict the number of cash withdrawals. Research by Moneyfacts has found that in July alone Bank of Scotland, Coventry BS, Halifax, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and West Bromwich BS all launched accounts that put restrictions on the number of withdrawals that the holder can make.

Should that limit be broken, a drop of interest on funds is incurred. For example, Lloyds TSB’s Incentive Saver is a 12 month fixed-term variable rate account that pays interest of 3%. However, for each month there is a withdrawal, interest is lost on the full balance for that month.

The minimum is £100, and the maximum investment £1m, or £2m for joint accounts.

Banks and building societies are adding ever-bigger bonuses to their savings accounts as a temporary measure to attract savers, according to financial information website moneyfacts.co.uk.

In the last two years the percentage of variable rate savings accounts including a bonus has increased from 10.8% to 16.4%, while the size of the average bonus has nearly doubled from 0.64% to 1.10%.

These offers will be available until 3 September 2009, or earlier if sold out.

Nationwide Building Society today announced details of a new range of fixed-rate ISA Bonds, which all offer a guaranteed interest rate for savers looking to take advantage of their annual tax-efficient allowance.

With effect from Friday 24 July, Nationwide's new Fixed Rate ISA Bond range will include:

Coventry Building Society is offering a limited issue stepped fixed-rate bond, over three years, where the rate is guaranteed to rise in the second and third years.

The bond offers a return of 4.00% to 31 August 2010, rising to 4.50% until 31 August 2011 and then 5.00%  to 31 August 2012.  

The bonds can be opened at any of Barnsley’s eight branches, and the e-bonds can be opened online by visiting  www.barnsley-bs.co.uk.  The minimum deposit is £100, and the maximum investment is £500,000.

Older investors could miss out on the opportunity to save extra cash in an individual savings account (ISA) this year to take advantage of a rule change made in the last Budget. Despite the savings limit for the over-50s being raised by Alistair Darling from £3,600 to £5,100 later this year, there is no requirement for the banks to notify savers of their rights, nor are they required to accept extra deposits from savers if they don't want to.

The rise in ISA limits comes into general effect from April 2010, but a concession allows those who reach their 50th birthday on or before 5 April 2010 to qualify for the hike six months early, on 6 October.

A three-year bond paying 5% and a four-year bond paying 5.15% are also available.

The Post Office today announced the launch of Growth Bond Issue 9, offering one, three and five year terms, and rates of up to 4.3% AER.

Post Office Growth Bonds offer savers a guaranteed rate of return over a fixed period of time, and are open to anyone with a minimum investment of £500.

With CPI falling from 2.2% in May 2009 to 1.8% in June 2009, savers are now faced with a far bigger choice of savings accounts that will enable them to get a real return on their money.

1.8% equates to a gross rate of 2.25% for a basic rate tax payer and 3% for a high rate taxpayer.

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) is launching a new 2-year issue of both its Guaranteed Growth Bonds and Guaranteed Income Bonds today, 13 July.  The new 2-year Bonds will only be available direct (via phone or online) from NS&I, and will pay an interest rate of 3.75% per annum and 3.65% respectively.

Customers can invest between £500 and £1m in total in the fixed-rate bonds, with guaranteed rates of interest. The Guaranteed Income Bond offers customers the opportunity to receive their interest as a monthly income, while with the Guaranteed Growth Bond customers will receive their interest at the end of the 2-year term.

Savers disappointed at the Bank of England's decision today to freeze interest rates at 0.5% for the fifth consecutive month, have been warned that base rate could stay low for some time.

Nationwide Building Society announced details of a new range of Fixed Rate Bonds and e-Bonds today, all offering a guaranteed interest rate for savers, and all available from tomorrow Tuesday.

They include a Five-year Fixed Rate Bond paying up to 5.00% gross pa/AER; a three-year bond paying up to 4.25% gross pa/AER; a two-year bond paying up to 4.05% gross pa/AER; an 18-month bond paying up to 3.75% gross pa/AER, and a one-year bond paying up to 3.50% gross pa /AER.

Coventry Building Society today 3 July re-launched its 50 Plus eSave account, which pays 3.25% (AER/gross pa), fixed for 12 months from the date of individual account opening. It also allows unlimited, penalty free access.

The account is opened and operated online, with a minimum investment of £1, and is aimed exclusively  at the over-50s.

Maintaining a comfortable lifestyle is the nation’s biggest financial concern, with one in four funding this by cutting back on protecting the things they love in life.

Meeting the cost of a comfortable lifestyle is a bigger concern than dwindling savings for the nation, with 6.7m people happy to raid their savings and investments to cover day-to-day outgoings, according to a study published by insurance, pensions and investment group LV=.

The horizon is looking at least marginally brighter for savers, according to a new report from MoneyNet - but they will need to keep alert, as the rate won't last forever.

A new generation of recession wedding guests are planning to dramatically reduce their spend this year, according to new research from insurer LV=. Of the 23% of all UK adults who will see friends and family tie the knot in 2009, 2.7m (25%) said they cannot afford to spend as much on the event as before the recession.

The Chesham Building Society is set to launch a table-topping one-year fixed rate bond from tomorrow (Friday 19 June) paying a gross rate of 3.95%. However, the majority of savers can hold off on the Champagne as the deal comes with a minimum balance requirement of £25,000.

In spite of the fact that saving is now harder than ever due to increased job losses and rock bottom interest rates, more people are recognising the importance of putting money aside for a rainy day. This is according to The Nationwide Savings Index, published today.

The TUC has warned today that unemployment will carry on rising for many months even after the UK's economy has begun to pick up - and continue its path upwards until autumn next year at the earliest. It said there has always been a delay between the economy starting to grow and unemployment beginning to fall, as cautious employers make use of capacity among existing staff before recruiting new employees.

British holidaymakers, in their haste to get to the sun, spend an astonishing £1 billion pounds replacing essential items that they've left at home, according to new research by Abbey Credit Cards.

Alliance & Leicester, part of the Santander Group, is offering its Premier Regular Saver Account, paying 7.00% AER, until 6pm on Saturday 13 June. The account is only available by telephone application or during business hours at an Alliance & Leicester branch.

it is also only available to customers switching to an Alliance & Leicester Premier Current Account, and is designed to help those looking to save, by encouraging them to put aside a fixed amount, of between £10 and £250, each month for a year.

Barnsley Building Society, which is owned by the Yorkshire, is launching an instant access Online Saver account, paying 2.50% gross/AER, on Friday 12 June.

The account is available to all level of savers, and can be opened with as little as £1. The maximum holding is £1m. For those who rely on their savings to boost their income a monthly interest option is also available.

Consumer group Which? has issued some advice to travellers following the collapse of Scottish travel firm ScotTravel. Rochelle Turner from Which? Holiday says: "With yet another tour operator collapsing and leaving holiday-makers stranded, it’s really important that people take steps to ensure they are protected should a similar incident occur in the future.

Sainsbury's Finance Internet Saver will pay a higher rate (1.85% above the account's standard rate), on all Internet Saver balances opened between 9 and 30 June 2009, providing the saver does not make more than three withdrawals a year.

Coventry Building Society today launched Poppy Save, a variable rate, limited access postal savings account offering 2.50% AER gross, with four penalty-free withdrawals a year.

In addition, the Coventry will make a donation to the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, which will equal 0.25% of the average funds held in Poppy Save in each 12-month period, beginning 1 June 2009.  The first donation will be made in the summer of 2010, and each year subsequently.

The range also includes a two-year bond and nine- and 12-month deposit accounts for customers who are looking for a fixed income (of up to 3.75%) and want to know exactly what return they will receive from the outset. Both the nine- and 12-month term deposit accounts require a minimum deposit of £50,000.

The rate includes a 1% introductory bonus for the first 12 month. Savers can invest from a minimum of £1,000 up to a maximum of £500,000, and can make unlimited penalty-free withdrawals when they give 30 days’ notice. In addition, users can choose to have their interest paid monthly or annually.

The sun is shining right on cue for the arrival of the 2009 wedding season. But new research published by Halifax Current Accounts has revealed that the true cost of attending a wedding may not be so sunny.

Abbey will cease to exist as a separate brand from the first quarter of next year, as part of a global rebranding exercise by the bank’s owner, Santander.

Bradford & Bingley savings and Alliance & Leicester will go the same way – by the end of 2010, all 1,300 branches will be known simply as Santander.

Skipton Financial Services, the financial advisory arm of Skipton Building Society, is offering a 2½-year fixed-rate bond through the building society which pays 3.55% and allows immediate access to 50% of their initial investment.

Alternatively, savers can opt for 3.75% in exchange for access to only 25% of their investment, or receive 3.95% by locking their money away until November 2011.

Credit reference agency Equifax has warned that motorists who want to make the most of the Government’s Car Scrappage Scheme, lauched this week, will also need a good credit score if they need finance for their new car.

There are some signs of good cheer on the savings front or first time in five months. The Nationwide Savings Index rose by two points to 75 last month – but is still 25 points below where the index started in June 2008.

Other figures are not so encouraging: just 56% of consumers think saving is important; fewer than half (47%) save regularly; a quarter (25%) save nothing at all; 59% save less than they think they need to, while only 28% feel that they save the right amount, and a mere 16% think now is a good time to save.

M&S Money has announced the launch of its first ever easy access savings account. Called the M&S Everyday Savings Account, it comes with a variable interest rate of 1.56% AER, which includes a 1% bonus for 12 months from the date the account is opened. Interest is calculated daily and paid into the account monthly.

Savers have been having a thin time of it recently, with few options open to them. But things are beginning to look up in the fixed-rate area.

There are now almost 40 fixed-rate bonds offering rates of between 4% and 4.40% gross, according to Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.

Barclays is launching a three-year fixed-rate savings bond paying 4.25% gross pa/AER.

The bond is available to new and existing customers and can be opened with a minimum of £25,000 and a maximum of £500,000. No withdrawals are permitted before maturity.

Honesty in love doesn't always extend to finance, according to research from Halifax published this week. A survey revealed that an estimated 217,000 credit cards are hidden from our partners. The main reasons for having a secret credit card were to buy ourselves items we didn't want our partners to know about; to hide existing debt from our partners and to use in case of emergencies.

If the economic downturn continues to worsen, the inheritance could be significantly lower than many have been expecting. Independent figures show that average house prices have dropped by £42,500 since August 2007 - which would impact the 61% of Britons who think of property as inheritance.

The vast majority of investors (89%) who have put their retirement savings in a SIPP (self-invested personal pension) are confident with their choice and believe they can outperform the professionals, according to a Barclays Stockbrokers survey published this week.

Nationwide Building Society, ahead of Wednesday's Budget, has called on the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, to overhaul the ISA system. The Society says it is keen to encourage a savings habit as well as help first-time buyers save - which will also stimulate the housing market.

A much-mooted 'car scrappage' scheme is now likely to be introduced in Alastair Darling's budget on 22 April, which will give people who trade in old cars for new or nearly-new ones a £2,000 allowance. The move is designed to reverse a recent slide in sales in the UK's car manufacturing industry.

The Bank of England's decision to freeze interest rates last week at their current low of 0.5% has drawn the clearest dividing line between savers and borrowers in history, says Annie Shaw of CashQuestions.com. 

Those looking forward to an Easter break abroad this coming Bank Holiday should be wary of how they pay for their fun once they have arrived. While using your credit or debit card may be the safest and easiest way to fund your trip, depending on the provider, costs can so mount up fast, according to new research from Moneyfacts.

Halifax has announced the launch of its 2009 Christmas Saver account for its social banking customers, that pays a fixed 3%  interest rate (gross).

Aimed at low income households who want to be able to budget for the festive season, the account allows savers to put away between £5 and £200 each month - with a maximum balance of £1,200 - between now and 31 October when it matures.

Alliance & Leicester today launched a one-year fixed-rate ISA with a rate of 3.00% tax-free p.a./AER, designed to appeal to savers looking for a competitive fixed return on their tax-free savings.
 
The branch-based bond has a minimum deposit requirement of £500, and allows transfers in from existing cash ISAs - although these must be requested when the account is opened.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has responded to pressure from the Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP), by producing a consultation paper on whether the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) should provide extra protection for people with one-off large cash deposits.

New branches will open next month in Blackpool, Coventry and Bristol.

That makes Wednesday 25 March this year's Debt Freedom Day, which highlights how much debt we are currently servicing, and how much of our income is being absorbed by paying the interest on our debts, let alone the actual debt itself.

More than a third of people (36%) say they have less money in savings now than two years ago, according to a poll in early March, commissioned by price comparison site moneysupermarket.com.

Almost a quarter (24%) say they didn't have savings two years ago and they still don't.

The energy watchdog, Ofgem, has outlined tough new proposals that would outlaw 'unjustified' price differentials between providers, and attempt to force them to provide a better deal for those unable to change their billing system, such as those using prepaid meters.

Yorkshire Building Society re-entered the tracker mortgage market today with two and three year products available up to 75% loan to value.

The two-year mortgages are priced at 3.39% (BoE + 2.89%) and the three-year mortgages are 3.59% (BoE + 3.09%). Both ranges have a minimum rate of 3% and 3.09% respectively, but are capped at 5.39% and 5.59% and are available for house purchase and remortgage.

Just under a quarter of British adults admit that they don't save anything at all.  Andy McQueen, savings and mortgages director at Nationwide, offers some useful tips on how to get into the savings habit.

1. Check your current account on pay day to make sure you've been paid, and at the same time move £25/£50/£100 into your savings account.

The UK's deepening economic crisis will mean that  the 3.25 million adults who plan to retire in 2009 can expect to receive £2.87 billion less in their pensions than those who planned to retire in 2008, according to the Prudential Class of 2009 retirement survey, which was published this week.

Spring, which officially starts this week, appears to be right on time this year. And when it comes to spring cleaning your finances, there has never been a better year to start on time, too. This is especially the case if you are a first-time buyer, according to recent research published by the Halifax.

Online bank Egg has launched a new Cash ISA paying 2.50% gross pa/AER variable rate, tax free. The product is available to new and existing customers from today, with a minimum deposit of £1 and a maximum of £3,600 per tax year.

Customers can make a one-off deposit, regular payments or just add to it whenever they wish – but existing ISAs cannot be transferred in.

Consumers are settling in for at least another year and a half of  bad economic news, according to research published today by consumer group Which? It shows that four out of five people (80%) believe it will take at least a year for the economy to improve, and almost a quarter (23%) say it will be more than two years.

Barclays is launching the Golden ISA, a cash ISA paying 3.55% gross/3.61% AER interest which is available to new and existing customers and can be opened with a minimum of £1 and a maximum of £3,600.

To qualify for the 2008/2009 tax year, the account must be opened by 5 April, 2009, or from Monday April 6, 2009 for the 2009/2010 tax year. The 3.55% gross/3.61% AER includes a 1% gross bonus for 12 months.

Yorkshire Building Society has expressed public disappointment at the Bank of England's decision to reduce base rate today to 0.5%. The society claims that the move will further impact on savers, particularly those who rely on their savings to boost their pension, and says it will 'do everything within its power to protect them.'

Old-fashioned loyalty to car dealers is becoming a thing of the past, according to new research from Experian. Almost half of car owners (47%) claim they would have their car serviced at a local garage rather than take it to the dealer they bought the car from. 

Energy provider ScottishPower is cutting its prices by an average of 7.5% (or £68) for gas and 3% (or £14) for electricity from 31st March, it has been announced. The average household bill for a dual fuel ScottishPower customer will now drop from £1,369 to £1,286 – but that's still £327 or 34% higher than its average bill of £959 in January 2008, according to calculations from price comparison service uSwitch.

Even consumers think that banks act irresponsibly by lending too much money, according to a recent survey by ASDA. It found that trust in banks has almost completely disappeared, with 73% of consumers stating that cash has been too easy to access. Conversely, however, only 4% of those asked said it was the sole responsibility of the banks to check how much customers can afford.

Halifax is launching the ISA Direct Reward, offering a guaranteed interest rate of 3% AER/Gross for the first year. The product will complement the existing range of ISA products and is available from today.

The minimum investment is £1,000, which must be maintained throughout the 12-month period, but up to four withdrawals without notice can be made in this time.

Interest rates have been slashed to a measly 1% but, according to new research published by online bank Egg, the vast majority of savers (69%) in the past six months have kept their rainy day money pot exactly where it is. This means that many savers will now be stuck with interest rates paying as low as 0.1%, said Egg.

Abbey and Alliance & Leicester Savings have announced the launch of a new 2-Year Fixed-Rate Bond with an interest rate of 4.01% fixed gross per annum. The bank claims that this is the best rate available in the market for a product of this type.

When the base rate started to fall last October, rates offered on fixed-rate bonds came down, too - but the margin over base rate actually widened, as banks continued to have concerns about each other's exposure to risk, according to Moneyfacts.

Historically the gap between base rate and fixed-rate bonds was around 1.75%, but at it peak last month this increased to 3.15%.

More than half of us (56%) are planning to celebrate Valentine's Day this weekend, but nearly four in 10 (39%) will be spending less than in previous years to save money, according to some timely research from Abbey. For example, five million Britons intend to celebrate with a romantic meal at home rather than eating out.

Returns on most types of savings are at record lows, according to Bank of England figures – which cover the period before the latest base rate cut.

Instant access and notice accounts, tax-free ISAs and bonds are all offering the lowest rates since records began.
 

The Government should reduce the amount it takes off the benefits of pensioners with savings to compensate for falling interest rates, says Age Concern.
 
£1 a week is currently deducted from a pensioner’s pension credit for every £500 saved over £6,000, and Age Concern wants that limit increased, and £1 to be deducted for every £1,000 over the £6,000 limit. The charity points out that the £6,000 pensioners are allowed to have in capital before deductions start has not been increased since 2001, and that pensioners increasingly have to eat into their savings to pay household bill, such as food and energy.

People’s attitude to spending and saving is undergoing a radical change, according to research by smile, the Co-operative Bank’s internet operation.

The average Brit saved £1,882 in the past year, but is planning to increase this amount by more than 35%, to £2,605 in the year ahead.

Nationwide Building Society today announced details of new savings and banking rates 1 February. With an average reduction of 0.41%, they are generally slightly less than the half-point cut in the Base Rate on 8 January.

HSBC is launching two High Interest Deposit Bonds for the over-60s, offering a fixed rate of 3.5% gross/AER on a three-year bond and 3.75% gross/AER on a five-year.

A minimum deposit of £2,000 is required, and the maximum balance is £49,999. Interest is paid monthly.
 

According to the comparison website uSwitch, 329 savings accounts across the market currently pay 0.5% AER or less, 16% offer 0.1% AER or less, and 23 pay just 0.05% AER. Put another way, 35% of all savings accounts offer 0.5% AER or less.

Eight out of ten of the accounts consistently offering the best rates are provided by building societies, according to the latest Moneyfacts Consistency Survey.

Principality BS has the most consistent products, with five products in the consistency tables, while Sainsbury's Finance continues to dominate the internet savings consistency table.

The majority of Britain's high street banks have agreed to axe the sale of single premium payment protection insurance (PPI) by the end of January. Among the banks are Alliance & Leicester, Barclays, the Co-operative, Lloyds Banking Group (including Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland), and RBS/Natwest. The move follows signals by the Competition Commission that it was considering a ban on the product.

Research from Cahoot - the online arm of Abbey - has found that the credit crunch is bringing households closer together in kind of 'Blitz' spirit, with Brits choosing to do things with their loved ones in order to share, or cut, day to day costs. Further good news is that this shift in attitude is paying off with the average Brit saving £408 on their entertainment spend.

Of the 36% with money in a savings account, just 5% keep their cash in a fixed-rate savings account, while 14% choose to save in a regular savings account and 17% opt for a standard savings account.

Cash ISAs are a close second to savings accounts when it comes to deciding where to keep the money: 26% of Brits choose to keep their cash in the tax-free havens.

Customers who insist on a passbook with their savings account are suffering the most as rates are slashed in response to Bank of England base rate cuts, according to MoneyExpert.com, which found that accounts with passbooks now pay an average of 0.22% less.

The number of passbook accounts - which are traditionally popular with pensioners - paying less than 1% has rocketed, with more than 44% now offering less than 1%.

So long as they can afford it, consumers will soon find it easier to pay for goods with just a wave of their debit card: Barclays is the first UK bank to roll-out contactless VISA debit cards to its customers. From March, most Barclays debit cards that are issued or reissued will have contactless technology built in as standard, and more than three million customers are expected to be using contactless debit cards by the end of the year.

Income tax on savings could be scrapped under plans being considered by the Conservatives. The idea is one that is being studied by George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor (pictured left), should the Conservatives win the next election, as part of a raft of measures to help savers hit by the lowest interest rates for half a century.

The Conservatives are also considering raising the income tax threshold for the over-65s, in order to reduce the amount of tax due from pensioners with savings and investments.

Norwich and Peterborough Building Society (N&P) has today announced the launch of a second issue of its E-Saver Account, available with immediate effect. The account, which can be opened with £1 by savers aged 16 and over,  pays 3.25% gross interest which is paid annually on 1 January.

Savers don't have much to celebrate at this festive time. A total of 47 providers have already decreased rates on 100 savings products by as much as 2.22%, according to research by comparison site uSwitch.

Among these changes, 34 providers decreased variable rate products by 1% or more, and the average is 1.13%. This is despite just a 1% base rate decrease. Some cuts were as high as 1.75%.

Variable rates took the biggest hit between 1 and 4 December.

One in seven people in the UK have failed to save a single penny this year. As a turbulent 2008 draws to a close, a survey by Alliance & Leicester has found that 13.5 million people have not managed to put any money aside as the recession deepens - and most of them say they regret it.

A more provident two-thirds of the population have managed to put at least some money away during 2008.

Skipton Building Society has joined the call for interest on savings accounts to be paid tax-free for UK pensioners.

As interest rates fall and pensioner inflation rises, the effects of the credit crunch are being felt hardest by the over 50s.

Leeds Building Society has launched new fixed-rate bonds (issues 10 and 11) that combine a return of up to 4.50% gross pa/AER, with access to 25% of the balance without notice or penalty at any time.

There are also monthly interest options for customers who require an income.

The Financial Services Authority is changing the rules to allow double protection for savers where a building society merges with another.

Under current compensation scheme rules, savings are guaranteed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to a maximum of £50,000. Until now, when two societies merged and a saver had savings in each, if the total exceeded £50,000 the saver lost valuable compensatory protection. When deposits were held in term accounts, the saver was uable to move his money to a different insitution to regain the protection he has previously enjoyed.

Up to eight million people on benefits and tax credits are being targeted by the Government’s pledge, in the Pre-Budget Report, to add 50p to every £1 saved in Saving Gateway scheme, designed to encourage the poorest to save.

The Government will add a maximum of £300 after the account-holder has been saving for two years, and this contribution will only be paid for months when no withdrawal is made.

Alliance & Leicester Savings has launched two new fixed-rate bonds - a six-month fixed-rate and a three-year fixed-rate, with interest rates of 4.50% gross and 4.00% gross pa/AER, respectively.

These new bonds are available from all Alliance & Leicester branches, for sums of between £1,000 and £2,000,000.  The offer will be available while funds last, with the six-month bond maturing on 30 June 2009, and the 3-year bond maturing on 31 December 2011.

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) is to reduce the number and value of Premium Bond prizes, following the cut in the Bank rate to 3%.

The total Premium Bond prize payout will fall from £87.8 million this month to around £57 million in January 2009. The number of will go down from 1.54 to 1.1 million.

More than half (14) of them have cut their rates by between 1.5% - 2.55%, whilst 47 providers have withdrawn accounts, according to the comparison site uSwitch.com.

Kaupthing Edge, the Icelandic internet bank, continued to allow cash transfers by existing savers after it collapsed in early October, contrary to instructions from the regulator.

The Icelandic bank closed on 8 October and the next day all its savers' accounts were moved to ING Direct, with no loss of money.

Only a quarter of consumers think they currently save enough, but just over half (52%) think that they will be saving the right amount in six months’ time, according to Nationwide’s monthly savings report.

This compares with 47% in last month's report - an increase of five percentage points. In view of the continuing market turbulence, and the approach of one of the most expensive times of year, this small improvement in future sentiment may be seen as a positive sign.

Following last week's cut in interest rates down to a rock-bottom 3%, some lucky homeowners on a tracker rate or Standard Variable Rate mortgage deal will soon find themselves with extra cash available. In today’s economic climate it’s essential to make the most of these new-found savings, according to Stephen Noakes, marketing director at Lloyds TSB Mortgages. He said: "We would encourage homeowners to use this opportunity to reassess their financial situation and take action by addressing outstanding debts, protecting the equity in their home or growing a nest egg."

£17.5 million would be required today to enjoy the equivalent lifestyle of a person with £1 million half a century ago.

There has been a 17.5 fold increase in retail prices since 1958, according to new research from Halifax Financial Services.

The Government is to lend £800 million to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to help cover the cost of compensating savers who lost their money when Icesave, internet savings arm of the failed Icelandic bank Landsbanki, closed last month.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said the Government would make sure that no individual UK depositors would lose any money as a result of the bank's failure.