Are Saga's exclusive over-50s savings accounts worth going for?

We take a look at how special over-50s accounts compare.

Saga is a unique financial services firm, as its range of products, from savings accounts to credit cards, are exclusively for the over-50s.

Recently it has bumped up the return older savers can get on its three-year fixed rate postal bond. The account has been boosted by 0.35% and now pays 2.15% on deposits from £1 and 2.50% on deposits from £10,000. The new, limited issue account is unlike most other bonds as it allows access to funds by post, subject to a charge.

Saga offers two other fixed rate postal bonds: a one-year deal paying 1.75% and a two-year deal paying 2.10% (which also allows access to funds by post subject to a charge) on balances from £1. There’s also an easy access account offering 1.35% which requires a minimum deposit of £1,000.

All the accounts offer the choice of interest being paid monthly (allowing you to draw a regular income from your savings) or annually.

But does having an age-exclusive savings account mean you get a better return compared to savings accounts available to everyone?

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Other over-50s savings accounts

According to financial information site Moneyfacts there are no other providers which offer fixed rate bonds exclusively to older savers, with only a handful who offer such restricted easy access savings accounts.

This includes Earl Shilton Building Society, Danske Bank, Darlington Building Society, West Bromwich Building Society and Chorley & District Building Society.

The Earl Shilton Building Society Heritage Account is the only over 50s account which offers a better rate than Saga, paying 1.4% on balances from £1,000. However, the account limits users to four penalty-free withdrawals a year.

The rest pay pitiful rates of between 0.05% and 1%.

How they compare

Here are the top rates across easy access, one-, two and three-year fixed rate bonds to see how accounts reserved for older savers stack up.

Easy access accounts

As you can see neither Saga’s 1.35% or Earl Shilton’s 1.40% rate make the top two and in fact pay 0.25%-0.3% less than the top rate from RCI Bank.

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One-year fixed rate bonds

Again Saga’s exclusive one-year fixed rate bond paying 1.75% doesn’t impact the very top of the table and pays 0.31% less than the top deal from RCI Bank and Charter Savings Bank.

Two-year fixed rate bonds

On two-year deals Saga’s 2.1% offering fails to feature in the best buys.

Three-year fixed rate bonds

*Anticipated profit rate

Again Saga's deals don't come close to the best buys.

So exclusive over-50s accounts clearly aren’t a better home for your money than accounts open to all, at least right now. Therefore you shouldn’t automatically think you are getting a better deal.

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Over-50s insurance

Savings accounts aren’t the only place you will find deals reserved for the older generation.

Over-50s deals are also prevalent on home insurance, car insurance and life insurance.

However, you should always compare what you can get against deals open to all. Some over-50s deals have been branded a rip-off by campaign group Which? so you should be on your guard.

More on savings:

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Savings protection change: savers can withdraw up to £10,000 penalty-free