By Jennifer Hill, Personal Finance Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - Savers are continuing a retreat to the "safety" of cash, but greater yields can be achieved on high-income shares.

Inflows into cash savings accounts are setting new records, amid market volatility and problems in wholesale money markets that have pushed rates on cash savings higher.

But inflation, which erodes the value of cash, is also on the up: it has risen to 4.6 percent, as measured by the retail price index (RPI), the highest since August 1991.

Many savings rates currently on the market comfortably beat that: FirstSave's one-year fixed rate bond pays 7.10 percent, Birmingham Midshires' online "eSaver" account has a rate of 6.50 percent, and Chelsea Building Society's "rainy day" account yields 6.10 percent while giving savers access to their cash.

"The impact of the credit crunch is still having an effect on savings rates," says Michelle Slade, an analyst at price comparison site Moneyfacts.co.uk.

"Institutions are still competing for savers' money and as a result, the majority are paying rates well above inflation."

There are accounts, too, that guarantee to beat inflation.

Treasury-backed National Savings and Investments (NS&I) increased the interest rate on new subscriptions to its fixed rate savings products on Wednesday, including its index-linked savings certificates.