Savings Accounts

Learn about the different types of savings accounts available, pros and cons and how much of a difference they can make to your funds.

Savings Accounts

What are savings?

Before you think about looking for a savings account to stash your surplus income into, you need to see if you could use the money more wisely elsewhere.

For example, if you have existing debts or a mortgage, it will in most cases be more beneficial to use the money to overpay these first.

Clearing debts will save you more money than savings can earn you. This is due to savings being subject to income tax as well as normally having a lower rate of interest rate than is charged on debts.

Are you savings or investing?

There is a key difference between saving and investing:

  • Savings accounts generally offer an amount of interest in return for you depositing money. The interest may be small or large, but the amount you deposit will be safe in the account.
  • Investment accounts are generally used to purchase units in a trust (i.e shares) and whereas the amount of units may not changes, their value can. In this case, whereas investments may grow faster than a regular savings account, you may risk losing the amount of money you deposit.

Once you have used up your Cash ISA allowance for the tax year you should start looking for accounts which offer a decent interest rate for the remainder of your savings/surplus income.

Regular savings accounts

These accounts require a monthly deposit (normally up to an upper limit), every month without fail in return for an agreed interest rate.

You are limited to the number of times you an access the account to withdraw money per year.

Whilst these accounts normally show a high interest rate figure, the amount of interest you earn can be significantly less than expected due to the installment manner of deposits. £2,400 deposited immediately will earn more interest than £200 per month over the course of a year.

These accounts are suitable for a new saver looking for a starting plan that doesn't have a large lump sum to deposit and does not require access to the money frequently once deposited.

Instant access savings accounts

As the name states, these accounts offer the advantage of easy accessibility to withdraw from your savings at anytime. The flipside to this is a lower interest rate than other accounts, yet higher than a current account. Even though these accounts are more flexible, you may still be limited to the number of withdrawals per year.

Notice savings accounts

Whereas instant access accounts allow spontaneous withdrawals, a notice accounts offers a pre-defined access notification period.

Before you can withdraw money you will need to notify the savings account up to 90 days beforehand.

Fixed rate bonds

The savings accounts described so far all have variable interest rates, which require you to keep an eye on them to make sure you are getting the rate you expect as you save.

With a bond, you are promised a fixed rate of interest for a set period of time, which will be honoured as long you keep your money in the bond for the same period of time without access.

This type of savings account is suitable for someone with a large lump sum to deposit, which can be locked away for a long period of time (over a year).

Compare savings

You can compare the effect savings accounts can make on your deposits using our savings calculator.

Have a look at our other Savings calculators

Savings Calculator

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£75,000 repayment mortgage on a property valued at £100,000 (min 75% LTV). Mortgage Term 25 Years. Costs compared over 3 years.

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£5,000 loan. Loan Term 3 years. Compared Over The Term of the Loan.

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£250 purchase balance and £500 balance transfer. Repaid over 2 years at the higher of 3% minimum payment/£5. Comparing the total cost of credit.

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£1,000 saved over 3 years. Does not take into charges. For non-ISA accounts, 20% tax at source is assumed. You can get a full breakdown when you compare.

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£1,000 invested over 3 years. Does not take into account taxation or charges, you can get a full breakdown when you compare.

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£150 invested every month for 3 years. Does not take into account taxation, inflation or charges, you can get a full breakdown click get more info.

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Search from a small selection of pension plans. For more Consult a Qualified Financial Advisor

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Mortgage Assumptions

  • Fees

    All fees charged will be paid upfront rather than added to the cost of the mortgage.

  • Costs

    Total costs consist of the full monthly payment amount over the comparison period, plus the upfront fees.

  • Offer Period

    When a initial interest rate offer ends, the monthly payment will be recalculated at the standard rate based upon the remaining balance at the time.

  • Tracker and Discount Rates

    With tracker and discount mortgages, please note that the costs will assume the base rate or lenders variable rate stay the same as now for the duration of the comparison.

Loan Assumptions

  • Fees

    No fees have been taken into account.

  • Costs

    Total costs consist of the total INTEREST charged over the term of the loan.

Credit Card Assumptions

  • Fees

    Balance Transfer fees will be added to the balance transfer balance on the card.

  • Minimum Payments

    Payments will be assumed to be made at either 3% of the total outstanding balance or £5, whichever is the higher.

  • Payment Priority

    Balances will be paid off in the following order: 1. Purchases, 2. Balance Transfers.

  • Rate Offers

    When the offer period on a promotional/initial rate expires, interest will be charged at the normal rate.

  • Total Costs

    These take into account the amount of INTEREST charged during the comparison period.

Savings Assumptions

  • Charges

    No charges are taken into consideration when calculating costs.

  • Taxes

    For ISA's, no tax will be deducted from earned interest. For other account types, 20% tax will be deducted at the point the interest in paid.

  • Bonus Rates

    When bonus rates expire, the interest rate will revert to the normal rate advertised. In the case of fixed rate bonds, once the bond period ends, no interest will be paid.

  • Interest Period

    Monthly interest in calculated and paid monthly. Annual interest will be calculated monthly, but paid on the anniversary of the starting date. Interest will be paid pro-rata if the comparison period ends before an anniversary.

  • Total Costs

    These take into account the total value accrued in your savings at the end of savings term. It does not take into account inflation.

Investments Assumptions

The Investments category displays Stocks and Share ISA deals only.

  • Charges

    No initial, annual or per deposit charges are taken into consideration when calculating costs.

  • Taxes

    For ISA's, no tax will be deducted from the annualised growth.

  • Rates

    Using past performance figures, we have created a compounded annual growth rate to provide a annual percentage figure to calculate growth against. This is from past performance and is NOT an indication of the future performance of the fund.

  • Interest Period

    Annual growth will be calculated monthly, but added on the anniversary of the starting date. Growth will be added pro-rata if the comparison period ends before an anniversary.

  • Total Fund Value

    This takes into account the total value of your fund at the end of invested period. It does not take into account inflation.

Pensions Assumptions

The Pensions Category displays a small selection of pensions only.

  • Charges

    No initial, annual or per deposit charges are taken into consideration when calculating costs.

  • Taxes

    No tax will be deducted from the annualised growth.

  • Rates

    Using past performance figures, we have created a compounded annual growth rate to provide a annual percentage figure to calculate growth against. This is from past performance and is NOT an indication of the future performance of the Pension.

  • Interest Period

    Annual growth will be calculated monthly, but added on the anniversary of the starting date. Growth will be added pro-rata if the comparison period ends before an anniversary.

  • Pension Value

    This takes into account the total value of your pension at the end of invested period. It does not take into account inflation.

  • Fixed Rates

    The interest rate charged is fixed for a number of years or until a certain date by the lender.

  • Base Rate Tracker

    The interest rate is set and then tracks the rises and falls of the Bank of England's base interest rate which is decided monthly.

  • Discount

    The interest rate is the lenders standard variable rate, which they decide. The discount period gives you a certain amount off that rate. The rate can be changed at anytime by the lender.

  • Variable

    The interest rate is the lenders standard variable rate, which they decide and can change anytime.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the name of the lender, or if you have selected all rates, the type of rate selected.

Click the arrows to arrange the products by the maximum LTV (Loan to Value) allowed by the lenders.

Click the arrows to arrange the products by the initial monthly payment you will be charged for mortgage amount you entered.

Click the arrows to arrange the products by the calculated APR (Annual Percentage Rate). This rate takes into account fees and charges as well as interest.

Click the arrows to arrange the products by the calculated total cost of the mortgage (Amount Paid) over the period selected.

What is the value of the property for which a mortgage is required?

How much do you need to borrow?

  • Capital + Interest

    Payments made to the lender will repay the amount borrowed as well as cover interest.

  • Interest Only

    Payments made to the lender will only cover interest. You will need to put money aside elsewhere in order to be able to repay the actual amount borrowed.

What is the minimum period for which you want the interest rate offer?

For example, for a minimum 3 year interest rate offer, select 3 years.

Tick to remove mortgages that have Early Repayment Charges.

Early Repayment Charges are applied by the lender if you repay the mortgage, or remortgage to a different lender within a certain period of time or date set by the lender. Typically a percentage of the outstanding balance at the point of repayment.

Tick to remove mortgages that have any fees.

Lenders may apply fees such as arrangement, booking or valuation fees when you take out the mortgage.

Tick to only show Buy To Let mortgages. If you are purchasing/remortgaging a property which is to be rented to tenants, this is the type of mortgage you will need.

Tick to only show Offset mortgages. Offset mortgages allow you to use you savings or regular income to reduce the amount of interest you are charged on your mortgage.

How many years do you wish to spread your mortgage over?

  • Good Credit

    If you have zero missed payments in the last 2 years, no CCJ's or defaults these deals may be available to you.

  • Fair Credit

    If you have missed a few payments as recently as the last 6 months, these deals may be available to you.

  • Bad Credit

    If you have missed payments in the past, had CCJ's or defaults, lenders in this category may have deals for you.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the name of the lender.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the headline rate (APR) of the loan.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the total cost of the loan (Interest Charged) over the time period selected.

Over how many years do you wish to spread this loan?

Tick to show only loans that include some form of payment break

Tick to show only loans that are available to homeowners.

Tick to show only loans that are available only to existing customers of the lender.

  • Good Credit

    If you have zero missed payments in the last 2 years, no CCJ's or defaults these deals may be available to you.

  • Fair Credit

    If you have missed a few payments as recently as the last 6 months, these deals may be available to you.

  • Bad Credit

    If you have missed payments in the past, had CCJ's or defaults, lenders in this category may have deals for you.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the name of the lender.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the purchase rate (APR) of the credit card.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the balance transfer rate (APR) of the credit card.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the headline rate (APR) of the credit card.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the total cost (Interest Charged) of repaying your chosen balance over 24 months.

Show only credit cards that allow balance transfers.

Show only credit cards that provide some form of cashback.

Show only credit cards that have a reward scheme.

  • Easy Access

    Regular savings accounts which may have short or notice period if you need to withdraw funds.

  • Cash ISA

    Tax Free savings, allowing you to deposit up to a maximum of your annual cash ISA allowance every year.

  • Fixed Rate Bonds

    Bonds where you deposit an amount of money away for a certain period in return for a fixed level of interest.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the savings institution.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the notice period to withdraw funds. For Bonds, this period will be the length of the bond.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the rate (AER).

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the total amount saved depending upon the amount you wish to save and the period over which you are saving it.

How much money do you have to deposit?

Show only cash ISA's where you can transfer funds from an existing ISA.

Show only savings where you are permitted to make withdrawals.

  • Ethical

    Stocks and Share ISA's where your money will only be invested into growth funds purchasing stock in companies that are socially, ethically and environmentally responsible.

  • Income

    Stock and Share ISA's where your money will be invested into high dividend payout companies, in order to generate a tax free income from your savings.

  • Pick Your Own Fund

    Stock and Share ISA's where your money can be used to purchase units from funds you pick from.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the institution name.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the risk level.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the past performance level. Remember that past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the fund value after the chosen period. If it is an income ISA, this will show the growth of the initial fund.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the name of the pension provider.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the past compounded annual growth rate of the pension plan. Remember that past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

Click the arrows to arrange the product details by the pension value based upon the amount you are investing and period invested (figures are created using the past compounded annual growth rate).

How much will you be investing monthly into the pension, gross?

Enter the minimum past annual growth percentage for funds you wish to see.

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This site is designed to give you an understanding of financial products out in the wild, preparing you for proper professional advice.

We have provided guides, tools, a selection of deals (lowest rate and/or fees) but expect you to seek full professional advice with a whole of market adviser before making any decision.

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