How can you protect your savings?
While only a few months ago it would have seemed crazy to suggest that the Icelandic banking sector would collapse owing savers literally billions of pounds, it has happened and those with savings need to be aware that it could in theory happen again elsewhere. So what can you do to protect your savings?
In a perfect world you should retain your savings in your home country where there are sufficient regulatory safeguards to ensure that you would at least get a large chunk of your savings back if the system collapsed. The truth is that if a UK bank was in trouble it would be highly unlikely that the government would allow it to go under as this would ruin the banking system in the UK - the authorities are in affect the rock behind the system in all but name.
However, to be on the safe side many savers have been spreading some of their savings between different organisations to make use of the new £50,000 guarantee per organisation which has just come into play. So if you had £200,000 in savings and spread it between four separate UK banks you would get paid out on the first £50,000 from each bank in the event of a collapse, so in affect you are fully protected.
Remember, if an overseas savings account offer looks too good to be true then it probably is.
Share this..
Related stories
UK unemployment set to rise in the short term
With rumours of a £1.5 billion write-down from British Telecom, a slashing of the dividend and up to 10,000 job cuts it looks as though the UK business arena is still struggling. Despite signs that the UK economy may well be starting to "bottom out" there are significant job cuts rumoured to be on the way. Aside from British Telecom, analysts are expecting significant job losses at Lloyd's bank a...
Read MoreNew study finds retirement worries around older workers
Around half of all Britons who are approaching retirement age fear that they have not saved up enough money to live comfortably in old age, new research suggests.According to Hartford Life, 54 per cent of all women aged 45 to 54 years old either feel "somewhat" or "very" concerned about this issue.Among men of the same age, this figure stood at 45 per cent.The credit crunch was cited by the Hartfo...
Read MoreUK Banks could be fined for mistreating customers
In a move which has come about because of a European directive, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is set to take over regulation of UK payments from the Banking Code Standards Board. The current system is purely voluntary although under the EU directive a statutory system will be put in place which will see UK banks fined if they "fail their customers". But will this actually work?
Barclays bank ordered to pay £112,000 in compensation
Barclays bank has been ordered to pay £112,000 in compensation to a retired couple who invested £200,000 into the Aviva Global Balanced Income Fund on the advice of Barclays bank. Within 18 months the investment had fallen to a value of £88,000 and the Financial Ombudsman Service upheld the complaint of the McCartneys and Barclays bank was ordered to repay the above compensation figure.
...
UK government could axe winter fuel payments
Over the last few months we have seen significant distress from the retirement sector with more and more pensioners struggling to survive amid concerns over the cost of living. However, the UK government looks set to plunge a knife into the back of UK pensioners with a suggestion that some areas of the winter fuel payment system should be taxed thereby raising around £250 million a year for the U...
Read More