How do different kinds of savings accounts work?

Piggy bank on the notebook with clock on working table

Shutterstock / Daniel Tadevosyan

By Rachel Wait | Published - 16 Oct 2024

Important info

This article is for general guidance only and is not financial or professional advice. Any links are for your own information, and do not constitute any form of recommendation by Saga. You should not solely rely on this information to make any decisions, and consider seeking independent professional advice. All figures and information in this article are correct at the time of publishing, but laws, entitlements, tax treatments and allowances may change in the future.

Along with a pension, savings can provide a vital income source once retired, and research from 2023 shows 42% of the British population aged 66 to 80 have cash savings ranging from £20,000 to over £200,000.

Yet knowing where to stash that cash and keeping an eye on how hard your money is working is essential if you want to avoid missing out on hundreds of pounds of interest each year – and keep your retirement lifestyle on track.

Seeking out the most competitive interest rates, as well as picking the right type of savings account for your current situation, will ensure your cash can support you in the way that you need.

It’ll also make it easier for you to hit your retirement savings goals, whether that’s setting off on that once-in-a-lifetime holiday, helping your children climb the property ladder, or simply building a healthy emergency pot.

Easy access accounts

Easy access accounts typically let you pay money in and withdraw cash easily, so it’s not surprising that over half (59%) of over-65s surveyed in 2023 held one.

Their convenience and flexibility mean they can be a great place to stash emergency funds – money that you can tap into to cover any unexpected expense, whether that’s a boiler breakdown or car repair.

There are sometimes limits you'll need to be aware of – some accounts may not allow same-day access to your money, or others may have a set number of withdrawals per year you can make before the interest rate received drops.

However, others offer instant, unlimited withdrawals whenever you want – so it’s important to be clear before signing up.

Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, explains: “[Easy access accounts] play a vital role in anyone’s finances, because it’s the most sensible home for your emergency savings safety net.

“When you are working, this needs to be enough to cover three to six months’ worth of essential expenses. After retirement that rises to one to three years’ worth.”

Alice Haine, Personal Finance Analyst at investment platform Best Invest, says there are other benefits to these accounts too.

“They can also be good storage spaces for short-term savings goals such as a summer holiday, or birthday and Christmas gifts for the children and grandchildren,” she explains.

The catch is that easy access accounts don’t always offer the highest returns, and with variable rates, they can drop if the official Bank of England interest rate falls.

As a result, savers might consider stashing a portion of their cash elsewhere.

“There’s a risk people keep too much in these accounts, because they feel more comfortable having the cash to hand,” says Coles.

Fixed-rate accounts

If you’ve got enough money set aside for emergencies, you might want to consider fixed-rate accounts (also called bonds), providing you can afford to lock your money away for a set amount of time.

Fixed-rate accounts mostly range from one to five years, and you can’t usually withdraw your cash or add to your savings pot during this time. But, in return, you could earn a higher (and fixed) interest rate.

This can be helpful for medium-term savings goals such as a dream holiday or paying for a child’s wedding.

“At the moment rates are expected to fall, and so you’ll probably find the best easy access accounts offering a bit more than fixed-term savings,” explains Laith Khalaf, Head of Investment Analysis at AJ Bell.

“However, if interest rates do fall, so [might] the interest paid on your easy access account, while a fixed term account will continue to pay the same amount.

“Fixed-term accounts therefore offer greater certainty when it comes to the income stream generated, which will be important to some savers, especially retirees.”

Anna Bowes, co-founder of SavingsChampion, agrees: “Locking some of your cash up could mean futureproofing it from expected interest rate cuts and, if inflation remains at current levels, the interest you earn could even keep up with the rising cost of living.”

Wooden blocks with words 'High Interest Savings Account'. — Shutterstock / Uuganbayar

Notice accounts

Notice accounts sit in between an easy access account and a fixed-rate bond. You can still access your money, but only by giving the required number of days’ notice – often between one and six months. Usually the longer the notice period, the higher the rate on the account.

Coles believes that this makes them a good ‘halfway house’ for those that want to have some money outside of a fixed rate or know when they’ll need to withdraw it within the next year.

“[Notice accounts] tend to be used by people who already have their emergency savings in easy access accounts and aren’t comfortable tying the rest up for longer periods,” she says.

Regular savings accounts

Research from 2023 shows almost half (48%) of over 65s have a regular savings account. These are generally used for short-term savings goals as they allow you to pay in a relatively small amount (say, between £25 and £300) each month, usually over the course of a year.

Although interest rates during this period are usually competitive, they’re generally only offered for a fixed term, so you’ll have to find a new home for your money. Some regular savings accounts permit withdrawals during the term, others don’t.

“Many older savers are likely to have built up cash lump sums over their lifetime so far, so may not be looking to save on a regular basis anymore. However, they can be useful accounts for squeezing just a little more interest from your savings,” says Bowes.

“The best rates are often only available to those with current accounts with the same bank and normally you will be quite restricted to the amount you can save each month. [As a result, they’re] probably less appealing to established savers.”

ISAs

Higher savings rates might be beneficial for your retirement income, but a consequence is that more people are in danger of exceeding their Personal Savings Allowance – the amount someone can earn in interest before they’ll start having to pay tax on it.

A basic-rate taxpayer can make £1,000 a year in savings interest without paying tax and a higher-rate taxpayer can earn £500. Additional-rate taxpayers (who pay 45% tax on their income) have no personal savings allowance at all.

Haine says: “The point at which a nest egg is liable for tax depends on the interest rate applied to the account – and sometimes on how the tax is applied (such as daily, monthly, annually or at maturity).

“[That means] savers with more attractive savings rates might find they become liable to a tax payment at a much lower level of savings than they had anticipated.”

This is where tax-efficient savings options such as Individual Savings Accounts, or ISAs, play an important role.

You can shelter up to £20,000 a year from tax in ISAs, and this can be split across cash and stocks and shares.

Figures show that half of over 65s hold an ISA, with an average value of close to £60,000.

Current accounts

If your pension or any other income is paid into your current account, it can be easy to leave it sitting there.

But it’s best not to keep more than you need in there, as you could be missing out on hundreds of pounds in savings interest.

“Generally speaking, keeping money you don't need now in a current account is not going to give you the highest reward,” says Becky O’Connor, Director of Public Affairs at PensionBee.

“Sometimes decent interest rates are on offer on in-credit balances, however they often come with many conditions, such as the rate only applying to a certain portion of your cash – or they only apply for a short-time period.

“It's important to check the conditions behind attractive headline rates and make sure you either don't leave too much money in an account that only offers that rate on a small initial amount, or don't leave it in for longer than the high interest period.”

If your current account does pay interest, remember that this – again - could push you over your personal savings allowance, so that you end up paying tax on that interest.

Transferring any spare cash into a dedicated savings account – particularly a tax-efficient one – will work to your advantage.

“Whichever type of account you choose, keep in mind the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) limit of £120,000, [which protects you] should the institution go bust. Before you sign up to an account, look for the FSCS logo,” adds O’Connor.