Topic
Cash & savings · Analysis
Savers put £95.6bn into cash ISAs in 2024 to 2025, more than two and a half times the £37.2bn that went into stocks and shares ISAs. From 6 April 2027 under-65s can put only £12,000 a year into cash.
Gilts · Analysis
5.76%: the 20-year gilt yield on 7 October 2026, the highest in Bank of England data going back to 2000. The 10-year yield, at 5.39%, is the highest since July 2007.
Gilts · Guide
Private investors buy gilts on the secondary market, through a platform, a broker or the DMO's own postal dealing service. Check the clean price, the accrued interest and the yield to maturity before you deal.
Gilts · Explainer
Gains on gilts are free of capital gains tax but coupons are taxed as income. A gilt with a small coupon, priced below £100, turns most of its return into the tax-free part.
Gilts · Explainer
The right comparison is what you keep after tax, and that depends on your tax band and your Personal Savings Allowance. Then weigh deposit protection against government credit, and a fixed term against a market price.
Cash & savings · Explainer
NS&I's prize fund rate is 4.35%, but that is an average and most holders get less. Set against gilts and fixed-rate savings, the comparison turns on your tax band and how much certainty you want.
Rates & inflation · Explainer
UK inflation was 3.1% in August 2026, enough to turn a taxed 4% savings rate into a real loss for higher-rate taxpayers. Index-linked gilts pay more as prices rise, with price risk and a 2030 index change attached.
Corporate & retail bonds · Explainer
A bond is a loan you can trade: fixed payments, a fixed end date and a price that moves against yields. Gilts, corporate bonds and bond funds differ in who you lend to, how you get your money back and how they are taxed.
