Learn more about the types of savings accounts
With so many different types of savings accounts, it’s difficult to know the right one for you. This will depend on your individual needs and requirements, including how frequently you can put money away and whether you are likely to want access to your savings. Here’s a quick explanation of the main types of savings accounts we provide.
What are the different types of savings accounts?
Popular types of savings accounts are:
○ Cash ISAs.
○ Instant access savings accounts.
○ Easy access savings accounts.
○ Limited access or notice savings accounts.
○ Fixed rate savings accounts.
○ Lifetime ISA.
○ Regular savings accounts.
○ Children's savings accounts.
Cash ISAs
A Cash ISA is an Individual Savings Account and is a tax free* way of saving and is essentially the same as a normal savings account except the interest won’t count towards your Personal Savings Allowance. There are many types of Cash ISAs, such as instant access, notice, or fixed rate. View the range of Cash ISAs that we have available at the moment. To open a Cash ISA you need to be at least 18 years old.
- Cash ISAs are tax free and your interest earned does not count towards your Personal Savings Allowance.
- You can open a Cash ISA from the age of 18.
- If you are likely to want to change your ISA provider then ISA rules state that you can transfer money that you have saved in previous tax years into a new ISA without affecting its tax free status. You can also switch ISAs whenever you want to.
- You can't open multiples of the same type of ISA with different providers in the same tax year.
- You must consider the £20,000 yearly ISA limit as this means that you cannot deposit more than this amount into all forms of ISAs each tax year. You can have more than £20,000 savings in an ISA from a previous tax year but the current tax year ISA limit for is £20,000.
- Some ISAs are not 'flexible' which means that you are not able to withdraw cash from your ISA and then replace it within your £20,000 tax year ISA allowance.
- If you do decide to switch ISA provider then your current provider may charge you or you could lose interest. Read the terms and conditions of the account before you apply if this is something that you think you may want to do in the future.
Instant access savings accounts
Instant access accounts allow withdrawals to be made quickly and easily without notice or immediate penalty. These are similar to the easy access accounts with the only difference being that instant access are within a branch environment and the customer will be able to instantly have physical access to their money as opposed to easy access where the access is instant, but online. So if you think you may need to withdraw some of your savings then an instant access savings account is ideal if you regularly visit a branch.
- Instant access accounts are great for someone who wants to save and have somewhere to put their money but will also need access to it from time to time. If you want to save but know that occasionally you need to dip into your savings, an instant access account could be a good option for you.
- Instant access savings accounts are branch based and if you need your cash you will need to be able to visit the branch during opening times to withdraw.
- Instant access savings accounts will usually have lower interest rates than accounts where you cannot access your money as easily.
Easy access savings accounts
Easy access accounts allow withdrawals to be made quickly and easily without notice or immediate penalty for non branch based accounts where you can't withdraw in cash. These accounts will usually have lower interest rates than accounts that do not allow you to withdraw your money.
- Easy access is great for someone who wants to save and have somewhere to put their money but will also need access to it from time to time, especially if you do a lot of online banking and transactions. If you want to save but know that occasionally you need to dip into your savings, an easy access account could be a good option for you.
- Easy access savings accounts are usually online and you will have to be comfortable with online banking in order to utilise these easily.
- Easy access savings accounts will usually have lower interest rates than accounts where you cannot access your money as easily.
Limited access or notice savings accounts
Instead of having instant access to your savings, with limited access or notice savings accounts you usually have a set number of withdrawals a year and requires a set number of days’ notice before you can withdraw money. This can be 30, 60 or 90 days notice, so these accounts are ideal if you can plan when you will need your money. There is sometimes an option to take out your money immediately, but you will be charged an interest penalty for this.
- If you want a deterrent from withdrawing from your savings account then this is an account which can do that as you have to give notice when you'd want to withdraw money.
- You won't have easy or instant access to your money.
Fixed rate savings accounts
A fixed rate account is when the interest rate on your savings account stays the same until a specific date. If you can afford to lock your cash away for a set period of time then a fixed rate savings account can offer you better return on your money. But you can’t usually access your cash during this time, and if you do the penalties can be high.
- Fixed rate accounts will often pay higher interest rates, increasing the longer the term.
- The interest rate is fixed at the time you open your account, so you have a guaranteed return.
- You'll know what interest rate you will be receiving until a specific date.
- There’s no guarantee that the current difference between our fixed rates and general rates will continue. General interest rates may fall below or rise above the fixed rate.
- If your fixed rate savings account is an ISA then usual ISA limits will apply.
- You will not have easy or instant access to your money and if you do want to access it there may be penalties or charges.
Lifetime ISA
The Lifetime ISA is an account that can be opened between the ages of 18 and 39 and is for first home or retirement savings where the Government will top up savings with a 25% bonus up to £1,000 a year. The maximum deposit each tax year is £4,000 and you can continue to save into this account until you are 50, still receiving the 25% bonus but you won’t be able to access the savings until you are 60 unless using for a first home purchase.
- If you are saving for your first home or retirement and would like a boost in your savings then the Lifetime ISA gives you an extra 25% from the Government on top of your savings. You also receive interest as well as the Government bonus.
- The Lifetime ISA has two uses; first time home and retirement savings. You can continue to use the account after a first home purchase and save for retirement still receiving the bonus until you are 50 and then earning interest on the funds until you are 60.
- The maximum yearly bonus you could receive is £1,000 and savers can keep adding to their savings until they are 50 years old, so those opening the account at age 18 could save a maximum of £128,000 and receive a bonus of £32,000. Lifetime ISAs can be opened online.
- You must be aged between 18 and 39 to open an account. You have to have held the account for 12 months before using your savings and the bonus for a first home deposit. To use this account for a first home you must be a certified first-time buyer which is someone who has never owned a property before, including a home outside of the UK. If you've inherited a property, or owned a share of one, you will not be classed as a first-time buyer.
- The Lifetime ISA can only be used for a first home purchase or withdrawn when you are 60 for your retirement. You can deposit a maximum of £4,000 into your Lifetime ISA each year. You can save into the account until you are aged 50 but then cannot deposit anything else into the account after this age. You will continue to receive the bonus until you are 50 but then cannot withdraw the money until you are 60.
- You will still earn interest over these 10 years on the money that is in the account.
Regular savings accounts
This savings account is for those who can regularly put away cash on a monthly basis - a regular savings account rewards savers for putting money aside - regularly!
- These accounts tend to offer higher interest rates but can impose strict rules, such as access to funds.
- The maximum amount you can save each month varies from £100 to £500 and withdrawals may be limited, but as a result regular savings accounts may provide higher interest rates. While regular savings accounts may offer impressive rates, it’s important to remember that because your money will be building up gradually, your overall return might be more modest.
- You may not have easy or instant access to your money and if you do want to access it there may be penalties or charges. This means that if you have a large amount of money to put away a regular savings account might not be the best choice for you.
Children’s savings accounts
Children’s savings accounts are a great way of encouraging young ones to save from an early age or for parents, grandparents, guardians or friends to save for their future.
- We offer a Junior ISA, which is a long-term tax-free savings account for children. You can open our Junior ISA with just £1. To open a Junior ISA the child must be under the age of 18 but if the child is 16 or 17 they can open the account themselves. From ages 0 to 16, a Junior ISA must be opened on the child's behalf by a 'registered contact', which must be someone who has parental responsibility for the child. Find out more about these accounts with our Junior ISA guide.
- We also have an account for under 16s which has instant access and unlimited penalty-free withdrawals, called Young Savers' Club.
Compare savings accounts
Comparing savings accounts can be a tricky business but we've tried to break each of the different accounts down to make it easier to understand. Here's a further breakdown if you have a specific account in mind that you'd like to open.
Best savings accounts for children
A Junior ISA is a great place to put monetary gifts that babies may receive when they are born and for regular saving for them for when they are older. Read our Junior ISA guide for more information.
Best savings accounts for 18 year old's
18 year old's can open all adult accounts that we have available here at Nottingham Building Society. A Lifetime ISA could be a great account to open if they think that they would like to buy property one day. They could receive a bonus for the maximum amount of years as you can save into a Lifetime ISA from age 18 up until age 50.
Cash ISAs and other fixed rate accounts are suitable for longer term savings that aren't for first home purchases and instant or easy access accounts would be best for an 18 year old who wants to be able to access their savings when they need to.
Best savings accounts for couples
Similarly to the above, an ISA suitable for first time buyers could be relevant for a couple if they have not already purchased a house together. Both parties in a couple do not have to be first time buyers to benefit from the Lifetime ISA bonus but at least one person in the couple has to be. For example, if one person has bought a house in the past. the couple can buy together using the other first time buyer's bonus from the Lifetime ISA.
Alternatively, if a first time house purchase isn't relevant a wedding, holiday or moving home fund could be useful. A regular saver account could be useful for these types of savings as they tend to offer higher interest rates for funds that aren't accessed for a period of time.
Best savings accounts for house deposits
If you are a first-time buyer and meet the other criteria then the Lifetime ISA is a good house deposit savings accounts as it offers a 25% Government bonus on savings as well as interest too. If you are not first time buyers then a Cash ISA with a fixed term interest rate will help you to work out how much you will be able to save in a set period of time as you'll know how long your interest rate will be set for. A regular saver may not be the best choice as the monthly deposits may not be as high as you would like to save.
Best savings accounts for pensioners
A regular saver may be a good option for small, monthly deposits that add up over time. An instant access account may also be a good account if they want to be able to access their money easy in a branch environment.
Best savings accounts for a lump sum
Lump sum savings would be suitable for fixed rate accounts as you will know how much interest you will roughly be expecting due to the term of the account if you aren't wishing to withdraw from these savings. We offer cash ISAs which currently allows a £20,000 deposit. Bear in mind the ISA allowance when depositing lump sums of £20,000 or over. Read our ISA guide for more information about this.
You will not have easy or instant access to your money and if you do want to access it there may be