Changes are being made to bonus rates for Save As You Earn (SAYE) Share Option Schemes (sometimes referred to as 'Sharesave') to keep them in line with other interest rates. Employees who are already saving under existing SAYE contracts are not affected by these rate changes.
The bonus rates were last changed on 17 February 2009. The new bonus rates effective from 29 May 2009 will be:
| Contract Type | Bonus Rate
(Previous rates in brackets) | Annual Equivalent Rate
(Previous rates in brackets) |
| 3 year | 0.3 x monthly payments (0.6) | 0.54% (1.08%) |
| 5 year | 2.2 x monthly payments (2.6) | 1.42% (1.67%) |
| 7 year | 5.2 x monthly payments (5.6) | 1.84% (1.98%) |
The Early Leavers' Rate will change from 0.5% to 0.36%.
Full details on the bonus rate changes and the bonus rate mechanism are available here