BondsApr 11 2017

NS&I launches three year bond

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NS&I launches three year bond

NS&I has launched a three year fixed bond at 2.2 percent for sums between £100 and £3,000. 

The bond which is being billed as a "market leading rate" will be on sale exclusively at nsandi.com for the next 12 months.

NS&I calculates the average 3 year fixed term product on the market has a rate of 1.24 percent.

It notes that in the decade before 2009, the average 1 year fixed term savings rate was 5.0 percent. But since then the average has been 1.9 percent, and is currently 0.6 percent.

The 2.2 percent rate was confirmed at last month’s Budget by the Government.

Economic secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby said the move would provide a valuable boost for savers. 

"From raising the Isa threshold to introducing the new Lifetime Isa, this government is committed to creating a nation of savers," he said.

The bond is available to those aged 16 and over is only available online, a move which NS&I says reflects the changing nature of customer behaviour as more money is deposited online with NS&I than via any other individual sales channels.

The new NS&I product comes on top of other actions the government has taken to support savers, including increasing the Isa allowance to £20,000, introducing a new personal savings allowance that means that 98 per cent of adults pay no savings tax and launching the Lifetime Isa to help younger people buy their first home and save for later in life.

IFAs are not fans of the new bond.

Kim Barrett, an IFA at Barretts Financial Solutions, said he would not encourage any of his clients to tie up money for three years, unless it was paying a rate as high as 10 percent.

"A 2.2 percent rate on £3000 a year works out at £66 a year that is £5.50 a month, which will buy a cup of coffee a month," he said. 

Danny Cox, chartered financial planner at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the bond fell short of price inflation a gap he thought would widen over the next few months.



 



"Undoubtedly it will be popular not least because of the Treasury backing and, unlike the pensioner bond of 2015, this savings bond is available to everyone aged 16 and over, and for a full year," he said. "Savers planning to buy their first home should opt for Lifetime ISA as opposed to the NS&I bond, since the 25 percent government bonus on contributions to LISA alone will be more than 3 times the interest over the same period”