Highest income options for savings and investments: Our advice

With the base rate and savings rates at historic lows, savers are becoming desperate in the hunt for income.

Our round-up points you to the best advice and guides on This is Money that will help you to squeeze more out of your capital...

Here are some ways to earn income:

- Savings accounts- Cash funds - Government bonds- Corporate bond funds- Equity income funds- High-yield - Property and property funds- Peer-to-peer saving and lendingThe basics for each of these is explained here while Money Mail's Tony Hazell provides a good round-up here. Then below, we have packed in links to articles where we explore these options in more depth. Graphic of Magnifying Glass

Financial Mail's Income investing seriesFunds that back infrastructure projects such as prisons offer a healthy incomeFunds that can deliver reliable incomeSome building societies are paying 13% to Pibs investorsInvest in infrastructure to boost income

Bit of everything

›› Six top income shares paying more than 5%

›› Six ways unusual ways to find big income (up to 20%)

›› Where savers can turn to beat inflation now NS&I index-linked certificates have gone

Income from stock market funds

›› How to find a really decent equity income fund

›› Top ten funds for income investors

›› Big is not always best for income funds

›› The equity income funds that are a good bet for savers

High-yield shares

›› Top 10 consistent dividend income shares

Corporate and government bonds

›› National Grid issues corporate bond to protect spending power, paying inflation plus 1.25% for 10 years

›› Can investing directly in corporate bonds beat inflation?

›› Is it time to ditch corporate bond funds?

Peer-to-peer social lending

›› Where savers can turn for 8% returns

›› Zopa launches new 'instant access' option

›› The new social lender with 'safer' 6% returns

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How to split up your money

So how do you lessen the risk while keeping the higher income? The trick is to put your money into several pots using cash, bonds and shares, so when one is out of favour, the others may compensate.

We asked advisers how to divide money and their answers are shown in the graphic below. We’ve stuck to a 50/50 split between bonds/cash and shares to bring down the risks, although each model could be tweaked to suit individual circumstances. You could hold more cash for security, for example, or take more bonds to increase the income. And older savers with smaller pots of money might want to avoid shares altogether. We’ve also used average returns, although you could achieve better (or worse) depending on the fund or account used. All investors should have a cash cushion for emergencies, even if it earns little interest, says IFA Tim Cockerill. He advises those with savings of £10,000 or less to stay in cash because a crash in bond or share prices could wipe out the entire nest-egg. Couples should always put savings in the name of the person who pays least tax, or inside an Isa. Isas have an annual allowance of £10,680 per person, of which £5,340 can be held in cash. Any income taken from these investments is tax-free. On cash and bonds, this boosts the income of a basic-rate taxpayer by 25 per cent and that of a higher-rate taxpayer by 66 per cent. [Read more]

Other income ideas from the archives:

- Ten tips for boosting income Our guide gives quick tips and some easy-to-understand advice

- Income funds Financial Mail's Jeff Prestridge gives an overview of the income fund choices, including selections favoured by advisers.

- More on income funds Money Mail's Charlotte Beugge gives her own overview of the best income funds. 

- Finding income overseas As dividends dry up in the UK, some advisers suggest looking overseas for income.

- What about income from Pibs? Permanent interest-bearing shares or Pibs are effectively stock issued by building societies. The income is enticing - but they are not full-proof as B&B Pibs holders found out.

Don't miss:

- Best savings rates - monthly income Best buy tables for the best monthly income accounts, with all account catches filtered out.

- Guide: Guaranteed income bonds Guaranteed Income Bonds (GIBs) are offered by insurance companies, and pledge a fixed income. See our guide...

>> Calculator: Work out your savings return after tax

Tables:

This is Money's savings tables are completely independent and compiled by Money Mail's savings experts Sylvia Morris.

›› Best monthly income

›› Easy access, internet and over-50 accounts

›› Fixed-rate bonds and accounts

›› Cash Isas

›› Offshore accounts

Predictions- What next for interest rates? - What next for savings rates?

Other options & info: - Guaranteed income bonds - Offshore savings accounts

Ask an Expert: Income answers ›› How should I invest in bond funds? ›› What can I do about falling dividends? | 30-second guide ›› Can you look into my pitifully low interest rate? ›› Can regular saver beat a lump sum?