National Savings and Investments

The top junior cash ISA is Leeds Building Society at 3.85%.

But if you want one that's available online, the top is NS&I, which is the state-backed at 3.7%.

Um, top na- a- easy access children's savings nationwide, 5% and up to £5,000, but if you wanna put more in, it's Kent Reliance Children's Saver, 4.18% on up to £25,000.

If you're not getting all of these, you can listen to it back and slow me down in the podcast-

I mean, they use it as a way to increase funds because it's the state-owned institution, but there are some rules that it can't be unduly competitive because it tends to skew the market.

Just 'cause they haven't would be the simplest answer, I think.

And Steven: "Are premium bonds for grandchildren a good option? Is there a maximum I can invest each year per grandchild? I'm aware of the NS&I limits."

The maximum is 50,000.

We'll certainly need around £100,000 to see us from now-ish until we get to state pension age.

Should we take this money from my pension or investments and pay the relevant Spanish tax on it, or is it better for us to take it from the NS&I accounts as there will be no tax implication this way? Carrying regards and thanks, Richard.

We're not telling you what you should do.

That's advice, Richard.

If we contrast that to the best-paying junior ISA, uh, junior cash ISA, I should say, you've got Leek Building Society that pays three point eight five percent.

Um, you've also got online, I would say the top account is NS&I, which is the state-owned financial institution that pays three point seven percent.

So you can hear that the rates are lower on the junior cash ISA than the kids' savings accounts.

Um, so that is, that is a slight balance that you would need to take into account.

I remember you phoning up saying, what's an offshore bond? Why is it in the Isle of Man? All this sort of stuff, like what was going through your mind?

Yeah, it's nerve-wracking because you don't, it feels safe when it's in a bank or when it's in, what's it, NS&I schemes.

Whether it is or not, I don't know, but you feel there's some safety there.

And all of a sudden now, I'm sending it, I'm wiring lumps of cash in the millions to play.

Also savings accounts.

You can also have some national savings and investments, so NS&I, so premium bonds and various other accounts that they offer.

Cash gets a little bit more complicated when you're talking about fixed term deposits and fixed term bonds.

Again, the word bond in finance is used about 900 times so to try and understand all the different permutations of bond it can be a quite quite a bit to retain so cash the reason why you have cash is obviously for your general day-to-day lifestyle also for your emergency fund if you're squirreling away some bit of a tongue twister to say that squirreling away some money for the unknown rainy day sort of fund and But cash, you've got to think about cash as it's your savings.

Fixed ISAs have pushed up since last month and Easy Access is still very competitive with a couple of new accounts on the table.

But the loudest news this month came from premium bonds and the NS&I.

So the prize fund rate is going up from 3.8% to 4.35%.

That is the second rise this year and the odds of each £1 bond winning improve from 22,000 to 1 to 21,000.

Uh, I mean, they didn't really go anywhere really, but, um, the rate or the effective rate, whatever it's called, Lee, you'll explain it in a minute.

NS&I's boosted it for the second time in as, like, I don't know, what is it, four months? This time from 3.8% to 4.35%, the highest in nearly two years.

The odds of winning getting better, too.

And from next month there'll be more of the big prizes, the 150 and 25 grand.

Oh, we're so back, baby.

So back? Because we've been discussing it a lot on the pod, haven't we? And we've been sort of, you know, "Is it really worth it? Should you bother? Rates are better elsewhere." Lee, I'll never forget the fact you didn't win in, like, 50,000 years anything.

But let's just explain, if you would, very briefly why NS&I would be increasing the rate, how it all works, and what does 4.35% actually mean for holders? Because as I sort of mentioned at the start, it's not like a normal savings account, is it?

No, it's not like a normal savings account.