The Sunday Times - UK (2022-04-24)

14 The Sunday Times April 24, 2022

MONEY

FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT... STUDENT LOAN INTEREST

THE

FIVER

5

1

If you take out a loan from a bank, the interest rate depends on how creditworthy or risky you are, as well as what it costs the bank to fund the loan. Student loan rates, however, are based on inflation.

2

The government uses the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation, which tends to be higher than the Office for National Statistics’ official measure, the Consumer Prices Index. The government has been accused of cherry- picking, using RPI when it collects money and CPI when it pays it out.

3

Every September the interest rate on student loans is adjusted in line with the previous March’s RPI, plus up to 3 percentage points. With the RPI at 9 per cent, some graduates are set to be charged 12 per cent interest.

4

This sounds awful, but it does not actually affect how much graduates have to pay back each month, because repayments for most graduates are set at 9 per cent of earnings over the threshold of £28,800. The high rates will be most painful for those higher earners who are likely to pay off all their loan before it is cancelled after 40 years, because they will pay the most interest.

5

When student loan interest rates are out of kilter with market rates the government has the option of applying a temporary cap. With the average personal loan rate at 5.77 per cent at the end of February, there should be a cap by September.

George Nixon

CASH ISAS INSTANT ACCESS Provider Account name Min deposit Interest Transfers in Contact Cynergy Bank Online Isa Issue 22 £1 1.05% Yes cynergybank.co.uk Marcus Cash Isa £1 1% No marcus.co.uk FIXED RATE Provider Account name Term Min deposit Rate Transfers inContact Aldermore 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash Isa1 year £1 1.5% Yes aldermore.co.uk Aldermore 2 Year Fixed Rate Cash Isa2 years £1 1.86% Yes aldermore.co.uk

Source: savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354

CHILDREN’S ACCOUNTS Provider Account name Account type Min deposit Interest rate Contact Dudley BS Junior Easy Saver Regular Saver £10 3.5% dudleybuildingsociety.co.uk Saffron BS Children’s Regular Saver Issue 2Regular Saver £0 3.02% saffronbs.co.uk Santander^1 123 Mini Current Account Current Account £1,500 2.96% santander.co.uk

(^1) Interest paid on balances between £1,500 and £2,000 2 0.25% paid on balances above £3,000
JUNIOR ISAS
Provider Account name Min deposit Interest rate Rate Contact
The Family BS Cash Junior Isa £3,000 2.4% Variable familybuildingsociety.co.uk
Coventry BS Junior Cash Isa (2) £1 2.35% Variable coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk
Tesco Bank Junior Cash Isa £1 2.25% Variable tescobank.com
Source: savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354
Best Buys
FOREIGN
CURRENCY
Interbank rates at 5pm
on Friday, which show
where the market is
trading. They are not
indicative of the rate
you could get.
EURO
GBP>EUR
1.19
USA
GBP>USD
1.28
SWITZERLAND
GBP>CHF
1.23
AUSTRALIA
GBP>AUD
1.77
ENERGY DEALS Supplier Average annual bill Rate Contact
Ovo Energy £2,799 Fixed 0330 303 5063
Scottish Power £3,457 Fixed 0800 027 0072
Phone numbers provided will call through to theenergyshop.com switch support team. Source: theenergyshop.com — 0800 448 0205
SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
INSTANT ACCESS
Provider Account name Min deposit Interest rate Contact
Chase Chase Saver Account £0 1.5% chase.co.uk
Zopa Smart Saver £1 1.2% zopa.com
Cynergy Bank Online Easy Access Account (50) £1 1.2% cynergybank.co.uk
NOTICE ACCOUNTS
Provider Account name Notice period Min deposit Interest rate Contact
United Trust Bank 200 Day Notice Account Issue 2 200 days £5,000 1.3% utbank.co.uk
Market Harborough BS 180 Day Notice Account 180 days £15,000 1.26% mhbs.co.uk
Oxbury 120 Day Notice Personal Account Issue 6120 days £1,000 1.25% oxbury.com
FIXED-RATE BONDS
Provider Account name Term Min deposit Interest rate Contact
Raisin 1 Year Fixed Bond 1 year £1,000 2.05% raisin.co.uk
SmartSave 2 Year Fixed Bond 2 years £10,000 2.37% smartsavebank.co.uk
Raisin 3 Year Fixed Bond 3 years £1,000 2.5% raisin.co.uk
DEALS ARE LISTED ONLY IF THEY ARE COVERED BY THE UK FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME (FSCS) OR A EUROPEAN EQUIVALENT MUST HOLD A CURRENT ACCOUNT WITH THE PROVIDER
Source: savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354
MORTGAGES
2-YEAR FIXED RATES
Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes Contact
Allied irish 2.10% Fixed to 31.05.24 15% £0 L 02890 479 221
First Direct 2.39% Fixed for 2 years 10% £490 LV 0800 482 448
Barclays 2.67% Fixed to 31.05.24 5% £0 PV 0333 202 7580
3-YEAR FIXED RATES
Barclays 2.17% Fixed to 31.05.25 40% £999 LV 0333 202 7580
HSBC 2.34% Fixed to 31.07.25 15% £999 PV 0800 494 999
Nationwide 2.44% Fixed for 3 years 5% £999 PV 0800 302 010
LONG-TERM FIXED RATES
First Direct 2.14% Fixed for 5 years 40% £490 LV 0800 482 448
HSBC 2.34% Fixed to 31.07.27 15% £999 PV 0800 494 999
HSBC 2.49% Fixed to 31.07.27 10% £999 PV 0800 494 999
Lloyds 2.23% Fixed to 31.08.32 40% £999 RS 0800 783 3534
TRACKERS / DISCOUNTS
Skipton 1.39% Tracker + 0.64% for 2 years 40% £995 ELV 0345 850 1755
Skipton 1.65% Tracker + 0.90% for 2 years 10% £995 ELV 0345 850 1755
Newbury BS 1.69% 2.26% discount for 5 years 25% £850 LV 01633 555 5777
First Direct 2.69% Tracker+1.94% for term 25% £490 ELV 0800 482 448
FIRST-TIME BUYER / LOW DEPOSIT
Nationwide 2.89% Fixed for 2 years 5% £0 FV 0800 302 010
Barclays 2.94% Fixed to 31.05.27 5% £0 PV 0333 202 7580
Barclays 2.3% Fixed to 31.05.27 25% £0 HPV 0333 202 7580
BUY TO LET
Skipton 1.53% Tracker +0.78% for 2 years 40% £995 ELV 0345 850 1755
Leeds BS 2.15% Fixed to 31.07.24 40% £999 OV 0345 045 4049
HSBC 2.29% Fixed to 31.07.27 25% £1,999 RS 0800 494 999
Early repayment charge applies unless otherwise stated. Most deals track Bank of England base rate.
C = £500 cashback for purchases; E = No early repayment charge; F = £500 cashback for first-time buyers; H = Help to Buy;
L = Free legal work for remortgages; M = £300 cashback for purchases; N = £250 cash back for purchases; O = £250 cash back;
P = Purchases only; R - Free legal work and valuation for remortgages; S = Remortgage only; V = Free valuation
Source: landc.co.uk — 0800 373 300
CURRENT ACCOUNTS
CREDIT INTEREST
Provider Account name Account fee Reward Balance (for reward) Contact
Halifax Reward Current Account None £5 a month – 0345 720 3040
TSB Spend & Save None £5 a month – 0345 975 8758
Virgin Money M Plus Account None 2.02% AER Up to £1,000 0800 678 3654
OVERDRAFTS
Provider Account name Account fee Interest rate^1 0% overdraft limit Contact
Starling Bank Current Account None 15% £0 starlingbank.com
First Direct 1st Account None 39.9% £250 0345 600 2424
Virgin Money M Plus Account None 19.9% £0 0800 678 3654
(^1) Equivalent annual rate.

Based on overdraft of £500 for 7 days a month.
Some accounts require minimum funding/direct debits to open or receive rates shown.
Source: moneyfacts.co.uk
Table shows the cheapest fixed tariff now available
from the cheapest suppliers. Excludes tariffs of less
than 12 months’ duration, tariffs that do not have
national coverage and tariffs where payments are
taken in advance of supply. Variable rate tariffs are
set by Ofgem’s price cap and may be lower.
CREDIT CARDS
INTRODUCTORY RATES
Provider Card type Introductory purchase APR^1 Reward Contact
Barclaycard Platinum All-rounder V 0% for 24 months 21.9% No 0800 151 0900
Sainsbury’s Bank Dual Offer MC 0% for 24 months 21.9% Yes 08085 40 50 60
M&S Bank Shopping Offer Plus MC 0% for 24 months 21.9% Yes 0800 997 996
BALANCE TRANSFERS
Provider Card type Introductory purchase Transfer fee^2 APR^1 Contact
Virgin Money Balance Transfer MC 0% for 34 months 2.7% (min £0) 21.9% 0800 389 2875
Santander Everyday Longterm BT MC 0% for 33 months 2.65% (min £5) 21.9% 0800 912 3123
HSBC Balance Transfer CC 0% for 33 months 2.7% (min £5) 21.9% 0345 7404 404
CASHBACK CARDS
Provider Card type APR^1 Cashback Contact
American Express Platinum Cashback 30% 0.75%-1.25%. Intro 5% for 3 months 0800 917 8047
American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday 24.7% 0.5%-1%. Intro 5% for 3 months 0800 917 8047
Halifax Cashback MC 19.9% 0.25-0.5% 0345 944 4555
1 APR = annual percentage rate, dependent on credit rating.^2 Fee charged on the amount of each balance transfer during the introductory period.
Source: moneyfacts.co.uk

The Sunday Times - UK (2022-04-24)

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