Wodge of cash from apartment sale - temporarily into state savings?

T

THE_Chris

Registered User
Messages
48
Ok so a few months ago I finally sold my apartment and now I have a fair whack of cash sitting in a regular bank account having lodged the cheque.

This, I do not like, as now I have > 100k in one institution and although the chance of the banks failing is low, I want to put it elsewhere.

I would have to split it across three banks due to the amount and with low interest rates and various bank fees it would actually be quite an expensive thing to do. State Savings Book Based Deposit Account looks good to me, as it has a 250k upper limit and a guarantee on the full amount. Interest is meaningless anywhere at the moment, really.

It looks like a safe place to stash it for the moment - can anyone think of a reason why I shouldn't use it? I just want to put it somewhere "safe" for the moment and once an extension for the house is put on I may look to invest a good chunk of it elsewhere. But I don't want it tied up or invested for the next few months..... I just want it safe even if its earning very little or nothing or even depreciating slightly.

Looks to me like I can just ramble into any post office with a cheque and sign up. Is it easy to get the post office to send money to an investment of some sort later on, or is it a PITA to do withdrawals to other locations with state savings?

Anyone any experience with this? Thanks.
 
THE_Chris said:
But I don't want it tied up or invested for the next few months..... I just want it safe even if its earning very little or nothing or even depreciating slightly.
Click to expand...
There's no need to panic.

Eligible deposits which are categorised as “temporary high balances” are protected above €100,000 for six months after the amount has been credited or when such eligible deposits become legally transferable. These are eligible deposits relating to certain events, including money deposited in relation to the purchase, sale or equity release by the depositor in respect of a private residential property.

What's you long term plan for the money? Are you planning to trade up or pay down another mortgage?
 
THE_Chris said:
It looks like a safe place to stash it for the moment - can anyone think of a reason why I shouldn't use it? I just want to put it somewhere "safe" for the moment and once an extension for the house is put on I may look to invest a good chunk of it elsewhere. But I don't want it tied up or invested for the next few months..... I just want it safe even if its earning very little or nothing or even depreciating slightly.

Looks to me like I can just ramble into any post office with a cheque and sign up. Is it easy to get the post office to send money to an investment of some sort later on, or is it a PITA to do withdrawals to other locations with state savings?

Anyone any experience with this? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with the State Savings Book Based Deposit Account if you need to hold the money in one place for more than six months. You could also consider putting part or all of it in Prize Bonds, which are also state guaranteed and also have an individual limit of €250,000. The return will possibly be better, the only restriction is that these must be held for 90 days from date of issue.

State Savings won't transfer money anywhere from your Book Based Deposit Account. You can withdraw small amounts (up to €3,000) at a Post Office on demand, larger amounts require 7 days notice. In reality you will be posting off a withdrawal form to the GPO and they will send you a cheque. In the case of Prize Bonds you similarly send off a repayment form to the GPO and they will either send you a cheque or transfer the funds to your bank account, whichever you choose.

Just one additional point regarding the Deposit Guarantee Scheme which Sarenco referenced. There is a limit of €1,000,000 on the “temporary high balances” in respect of transactions relating to a private residential property.
 
Thats great news, I had no idea there was a clause for high values for 6 months. Means I'm "safe" for a little bit yet.

TBH I'm not sure what to do with it... some of this money may go to an extension of my parents house for a granny flat for me or them (with the obvious care of tax implications in doing that, to be investigated) or just invested or kept safe in a simple low-risk account and used as a nest-egg in the future. Or maybe left to take early retirement in 20 years time. Not sure yet. I am very lucky to have it. Certainly once this pandemic is done I'll be using a little of it on travel and living, but for now its just going to have to sit there.

State Savings does look good because of the higher guarantee limit but the inability to transfer it easily is a bit of a pain. Seems to all be a bit of a faff. Might go to an Independent Financial Advisor to see what investments are available, for at least a part of it. I'll think on that.

Thanks for the help, I'm sure there'll be more questions in the future...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top