SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROVIDER	AER	MINIMUM INVESTMENT	SAVINGS ACCOUNT DETAILS	FURTHER INFORMATION
A&L	2.50%	£1,000+	24/7 access to your account, no withdrawal or penalty charges.
SANTANDER	2.50%	£1+	Instant Access with no penalties
HSBC	0.75%	£1+	HSBC Online Bonus Savers Account is a high interest account that you manage online. Variable rate of 0.75% AER (0.75% gross including bonus interest), when you don't make a withdrawal. If you do need to make a withdrawal, you won't get bonus interest, but you'll still get 0.25% AER (0.25% gross).

So do over 50's savings accounts offer more?

A number of banks and building societies offer savings rates specifically targeted at the over 50's and these accounts pay a higher rate of interest than their normal savings accounts. So i decided to take a look at them to see if they offer good value or whether the rates they offer could be beaten by accounts not specifically targeted at the over 50's. With the collapse in interest rates i had hoped that these accounts would have been a good investment for those savers who have seen their returns reduced but sadly as the figures below show this is not the case and these savings accounts appear to be more of a marketing gimmick than a genuine attempt to provide the over 50's with the highest savings rates. With prudence in mind all the accounts shown except for the ING Savings account which is covered under the dutch scheme are covered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to the £50,000 limit.

Notice Savings Accounts over 50's best buys for notice accounts (12/05/2010)

Principality Building Society 60+ Minimum Investment £1 60 days notice 0.70% Loughborough Building Society Classic Savings Account Minimum Investment £10 30 days notice 2.20% On paper the two over 50's savings accounts above look ok. That is until you look at the no notice accounts and realise they are offering a higher rate of interest.

Instant Access Accounts over 50's Best Buys (12/05/2010)

Saga Telephone Saver Minimum Investment £1+ 2.75% Chorley Building Society Over 60's Account Minimum Investment £1 1.50% Again sadly these two best buys in the over 50's category fall well short of the best buys in the overall market and below are instant access savings accounts and fixed rate bonds that could provide a higher interest rate for the over 50's savings. Below you can see 1 non age dependant instant access savings accounts that pays a higher rate of interest. Coventry Building Society 3.00% (rate correct @12/05/2010)

MONTHLY INTEREST FOR THE OVER 50's? If you don't mind locking your money away for 2,3 or 4 years ICICI bank have a range of fixed rate bonds which offer a monthly interest payment option. The 3 year pays a whopping 4.15% Further information here