Help & Tips
So are your savings safe?
Your savings are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provided they are held at a bank or building society with a licence from the FSA. All bona fide institutions have such a licence, but you can check your bank is authorised on the FSA website.
The scheme ensures that deposits are protected up to the first £85,000 per person, per banking group – but this is a rule that can cause confusion.
For example, if you hold money in separate accounts at HSBC and First Direct (an HSBC subsidiary), your overall protection will still be £85,000 because the two accounts come under the same banking licence.
If you hold cash in an HSBC and a Santander account, on the other hand, your total protection will be £85,000 per account (so as much as £170,000) because they are two separate banks.
Joint savings accounts get double protection, so a husband-and-wife account is covered up to the first £170,000.
If you are unclear about whether any of your account providers share a banking licence, check with the FSA.
And if you have more than the protection limit in any account or banking group, think about spreading your cash among more institutions.
The chances of one of our major banks going bust may appear remote at the moment, but there’s no point in taking unnecessary risks.
Free savings tools to help you make the most of your savings
Getting into the savings habit can often be the hardest part, as it can often mean you have to tighten your belt or stick to a stricter budget. To help you work out where you can make some changes to your spending we have developed a handy cost calculator so you can work out quickly and easily just where your money goes each month to help you decide where you could spend less to help you save more.
If you have got a savings goal in mind, or would like to know just how long it will take you to reach your target, we have a savings calculator that can help. You can see just how much you need to save each month and how much interest you will earn.
Deciding on exactly which savings account to use can be tricky, there are fixed accounts, ISAs, easy access accounts - basically lots to choose from! To try and help you determine just where to put you money we have come up with a handy savings tree that shows you some of the places you can put your cash. This isn't financial advice, but rather a starting point for you to start thinking about what savings accounts are right for you.
Glossary
AER
This stands for the Annual Equivalent Rate. It is shown as a percentage and tells you the rate of interest you will earn on your savings balance over the period of one year.
Base Rate
The offical rate of interest as set out by the Bank of England.
Basic Rate Tax
Basic rate tax is charged at 20% on the first £35,000 of income above your annual personal allowance. The personal allowance is £7,475 for the under 65s, £9,940 for those aged 65-74 and £10,090 for the over 75s.
Cash ISA
This is a tax free savings account where you can save up to £5,340 in a tax year.
Instant Access Accounts
This type of account allows you to access your money at any time, most accounts will allow unlimited, free withdrawals.
Fixed Rate Bond
A fixed rate bond allows you to earn a higher rate of interst by locking you money away for a set period of time. These durations can range between 1-6 years in length.
Gross
This is the total amount of interest before tax.
Net
This is the amount of interest paid after tax.