Q. My wife and I are keen to cash in on the high interest rates on offer, but are a bit nervous about locking away our savings for too long. A house renovation may be on the cards in the next couple of years so we don’t want to risk paying a penalty for withdrawing our money early. We keep hearing that savings rates will fall soon and don’t want to miss out on the good deals.

We have about £23,000 in savings. Are there any accounts that would guarantee a decent return but not penalise us if we needed to access the money?Roger, 61, Dorset

It does look as though the Bank of England will cut the base rate at least once this year, which is likely to mean that rates on variable savings accounts will fall too. But most fixed-term accounts do not allow you to get at your money until maturity, so if you may need to withdraw your funds before the term is up, a fixed-rate bond is not a good idea.

Fixed-rate Isas allow early access, but that normally comes with a hefty penalty in the form of lost interest.

• Where should I save once I’ve used my £20,000 Isa allowance?

One suggestion would be to build a balanced cash portfolio that includes easy-access and fixed-term accounts. You could lock some of the capital away for perhaps a year or two and leave what you think you would need initially in the best easy-access accounts available.

At the time of writing, if you were to put all your savings into the easy-access account that pays the best rate — Ulster Bank’s 5.2 per cent — you would earn more over the next 12 months than if you split it into one-year and two-year fixed accounts. This is because the top one-year bond is paying about the same as the Ulster Bank account, while the top two-year bond pays 5.05 per cent. But that assumes of course that the variable rate would not fall, which is unlikely. And you also need to hold or open a current account with Ulster Bank to qualify for the easy-access account.

If you would prefer not to jump through that hoop, the next best easy-access accounts are paying just over 5 per cent. The Flagstone savings platform pays 5.07 per cent, with a minimum deposit of £10,000, or you can get 4.96 per cent directly with Kent Reliance on a minimum deposit of £1,000.

• Best savings accounts• Best cash Isa rates in June 2024

With interest rates expected to come down over the next few months it’s likely that variable rates will fall, so it could still pay to lock some of your money away to hedge against this.

Something else to consider is whether you are likely to pay tax on the interest you earn. If you are a basic-rate taxpayer you have a tax-free personal savings allowance of £1,000 — the amount you can earn in interest without handing any of it to the taxman. Higher-rate taxpayers get £500 and additional-rate taxpayers get no tax-free allowance.

It is frustrating that these thresholds have not been increased since they were introduced in 2016. If you are basic-rate taxpayers and the money is deposited in both your names, and you do not have other cash savings, it’s unlikely that you will breach the limit. But if you are higher-rate taxpayers or are keeping the money in one name only, it may be a good idea to use a cash Isa to avoid a tax bill. Bear in mind, though, that fixed-term Isa rates are lower than the equivalent fixed bond rates.

Anna Bowes started out at Chase de Vere Investments and has worked in financial services for more than 30 years. In 2011 she helped to set up the consumer website Savings Champion