How families benefit from top rate

THIS week we pick out the best deals on telephone and postal accounts. Coventry BS Family 1st Saver — an account you run over the telephone or through its branches — pays 4 pc after 20 pc tax (5 pc before tax) to those who pay their child benefit money into the society’s Family 1st Benefit account. For pensioners aged 60 or over, Stroud & Swindon BS Diamond pays 3.88 pc (4.85 pc) on £5,000plus with interest paid monthly. Northern Rock offers a similar rate of 3.87 pc (4.74 pc) with interest paid monthly in its postal Silver Savings account for the over 50s, minimum £5,000. Savers who do not qualify for these accounts can still earn 3.8 pc (4.75 pc) with ING Direct, an account you run over the telephone or the internet. To qualify for our tables an account must either have paid a

consistently good rate

for at least six

months, or have a

guarantee linking it

to base rate. This

ensures that the

bank or building

society cannot chip

away at the rate so

that it becomes

uncompetitive.

The account must

also give you easy

access to your money

rather than making

you wait months to

make a withdrawal.

We ignore short-term

bonuses which boost

the rate artificially as

well as accounts

which parade as easy

access accounts but

limit the number of

withdrawals you can

make each year to

just three or four.

If one of our

recommended

accounts falls out of

line and becomes

uncompetitive, we

publish a warning. £ 10,000

%

4.00

3.88

3.87

3.80

3.84

3.76

3.60

3.60

3.60

3.40

3.40