Top monthly account gives paltry 1.25pc

PICKINGS for savers searching for monthly interest are getting ever slimmer. The best you can get on an easy-access account is 1.25 pc from Virgin Money Defined Access.

This gives you just £10.40 interest a month on £10,000 worth of savings, even if you don’t pay tax. After 20 pc tax, you’ll see £8.32.

You are limited to making just three withdrawals from your capital each year. The account is available online, through the post or its branches.

Shawbrook Bank pays 1.24 pc on its internet-based Easy Access account with no withdrawal restrictions.

You can do better on one-year fixed rate deals if you run your account online. Charter Savings Bank pays 1.65 pc. But even here, you earn only £13.75 a month before tax on your £10,000.

In the High Street, the best deals include Skipton BS at 1.14 pc (£9.50 a month) or 1.09 pc (£ 9.08) from Nationwide. Even if you are willing to tie up your money for two years, the best you can do is 1.79 pc from Tesco Bank (£14.90) or, in the High Street, 1.49 pc from Coventry BS (£12.42).

Few providers pay monthly interest on cash Isa money. The best deals from those that do on easy-access accounts include Virgin Money Defined Access Isa, which pays 1.25 pc.

On one-year fixed-rate deals, you earn less. The top rate is 1.19 pc (£9.91 a month before tax on £10,000) from internet and phone-based Shawbrook, Kent Reliance and Aldermore banks.