There are still no savings accounts that beat inflation despite the rate falling in November.

Inflation fell for the second month in a row in November, but it is still running at more than twice the Bank of England's 2 per cent target rate.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation fell to 4.8 per cent (from 5 per cent) while the Retail Prices Index (RPI), which includes mortgage payments and council tax, fell 0.2 per cent to 5.2 per cent.

To beat inflation, a basic-rate taxpayer paying 20 per cent now needs to find a savings account paying at least 6 per cent, while a higher-rate taxpayer at 40 per cent needs to find an account paying an impossible 8 per cent.

Unsurprisingly, there are now no regular accounts on the market to beat this – down from 57 a year ago – and £10,000 invested five years ago would now only be worth £9,210.

Sylvia Waycot, spokesperson for moneyfacts.co.uk, says: 'With returns so low and inflation unsteady, people don't know which way to turn.

'This means more and more people are falling into "the eroding spending power trap" which has already wiped nearly £800 off the spending power of £10,000 in just five years.'

The only options left for savers wishing to beat rising prices are three inflation-linked accounts, which are all structured bonds, from providers Santander, Legal & General and Yorkshire Building Society.

The Legal & General bond, for example, offers a minimum return of 17.5 per cent (3.27 per cent AER) over a period of five years, or, if greater, 100 per cent of the growth in the RPI. The original capital will be repaid on maturity.

Adrian Lowcock, senior investment adviser at Bestinvest, highlights that although these products can deliver inflation-beating returns, investors should be wary of the term 'guaranteed capital return'.

He adds: 'The return is not guaranteed as it is supported by a counterparty, usually a bank, so the investment is indirectly an exposure to bank debt. Here lies one of the major issues – at present we would not recommend an investor to get exposure to bank debt – the eurozone crisis has put pressure on Europe’s banks and the risks are huge, so we only like the highest-quality counterparties, and HBSC is the only one.'

Lowcock says Legal & General's inflation-linked bond is guaranteed by RBS, and investors need to be aware of this.