ANYONE buying savings certificates or savings bonds from An Post can expect to earn less interest after this week: the five year and nine month cumulative rate for certificates has dropped from 34.5 per cent (i.e. a cumulative annual rate of 5.54 per cent) to 30 per cent over the period (4.89 per cent per annum). This latest issue of savings bonds will earn 14 per cent cumulative over three years or 4.46 per cent per annum if held to full term. The previous three year cumulative rate was 17 per cent or 5.37 per cent per annum, nearly a full percentage point higher.
An individual can hold a maximum of £60,000 in savings certificates and bonds; certs are sold in blocks of £50, bonds in blocks of £100. Earnings are tax free and the account is not, subject to any fees, charges or transaction costs. Withdrawals require seven days notice.
Someone who invests £1,000 in savings certificates must hold their certs for the full five years and nine months to benefit from the guaranteed rate.
The cumulative return on the new bonds amounts to per cent after one year, 7.5 per cent after two years, and the full 14 per cent after three years.
