Saving

Over one million searches have been made on the Government's online pensions tracing service since its launch last year.

Savers have been given a boost after Paragon Bank launched market-leading rates, including a two-year fixed account offering 2.05%.

The first cash Lifetime ISA has already proved popular with savers, with thousands opened in the first week of its launch.

Savers have been given a boost after Atom Bank launched a market-leading two-year fixed account offering 2%.

No other banks or building societies currently have plans to follow Skipton Building Society's lead and launch a cash Lifetime ISA, MoneySavingExpert.com has found.

Skipton Building Society will launch the UK's first cash Lifetime ISA on Thursday. It'll offer an annual interest rate of just 0.5% – but crucially if you use one to save, you'll also get a 25% state bonus when you buy a home or turn 60.

New savings provider Ford Money, owned by the US car manufacturer, is turning its focus to regular savings, offering two market-leading accounts paying a fixed 4% AER interest for a year.

Plans to slash the tax-free dividend allowance from £5,000 to £2,000 in April 2018 have been dropped, but could be resurrected after the general election.

The launch tomorrow of the new LISA (Lifetime ISA) looks like it's going to be a damp squib, with only a few providers offering them. Yet don't ignore it. After all, £1,000 of annual free cash is nowt to be sneezed at - and for first-time buyers, delay could cost.