The range of banks offering rates of 5% or higher to savers is widening. We reveal your options

Five percent term deposit rates are arriving quite quickly now.

Five banks, six bank brands now offer them.

Keeping an eye on these is a good idea for savers. Tomorrow, February CPI data will be released, expected to reveal a 3.8% inflation rate, unchanged from January. But as most readers will know, and feel in their wallets, the March rate is likely to be even higher.

To stay even with inflation, you need to earn interest on your savings at an after-tax rate that matches or betters inflation. So the tax rate that applies to you is an important factor too.

At a 5.10% term deposit rate, you can only 'afford' a 34% marginal tax rate to stay level pegging with inflation at 3.8%.

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In addition to these are five percent rates on at-call savings accounts. There are a number, although some are 'welcome rates' only for new clients.. Here is a list of institutions offering 5%+ rates on savings accounts:

• Bank of Queensland, their Future Saver account
• Great Southern Bank - their Youth Saver for the first $5000
• ING has two, their Savings Accelerator account (a remarkable 5.4%), and their Savings Maximiser account
• Newcastle Permanent's Smart Saver could earn you 5.25% on a portion of your account to $50,000
• Westpac's Life & Spend account pays 5.25% for the first $30,000

So there are some options. But with up-pressure on background and policy rates, plus competitive pressure being exerted by Macbank, you might expect more institutions will be offering these fairy soon.

Our tables you can access via the Savings menu has the full list.