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If you want to earn more interest by locking up your savings, take a look at these top fixed-rate accounts.
When it comes to savings accounts, many of us prefer the option of an easy access account so we don’t have to worry should we need to get our hands on our cash in an emergency.
However, you’ll generally get a better rate of interest if you’re prepared to lock away your money for a year or more in a fixed rate bond. A fixed term bond is just like an ordinary savings account, except you can't touch your money for a set period of time.
Interest rates on shorter-term bonds are slowly increasing and easily beat the top easy access accounts.
If you don't like the riskier options then there's definitely an argument for locking your money away in a fixed-rate account, at least for the short term.
All of the bonds listed below are with providers who participate in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (unless otherwise stated), which guarantees the first £85,000 of your savings should the provider go bust, going down to £75,000 at the start of next year.
One-year and 18-month bonds
Here are the best one-year and 18-month deals available right now.
|
Account |
Term |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Access |
|
18 months |
2.17% |
£1,000 |
Online, branch, post, phone |
|
|
18 months |
2.10% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
Shawbrook Bank |
18 months |
2.10% |
£1,000 |
Online, post |
|
Milestone Savings |
One year |
2.10% |
£10,000 |
Online |
|
Harrods Bank Limited |
18 months |
2.10% |
£20,000 |
Online, branch, post |
|
One year |
2.07% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
One year |
2.06% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
FirstSave One-Year Bond |
One year |
2.06% |
£5,000 |
Online |
|
One year |
2.05% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
One year |
2.05% |
£1,000 |
Online |
*Expected profit rate
You'll notice some of the accounts offer an expected profit rate. This is because they are run according to Sharia law, which forbids the payment of interest.
Two-year bonds
You can get better rates by locking your cash up for longer in a two-year bond.
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Account access |
|
2.42% |
£1,000 |
Online, branch, post, phone |
|
|
2.35% |
£1,000 |
Online, post, phone |
|
|
2.35% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
Milestone Savings |
2.35% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
2.32% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
2.31% |
£500 |
Online |
|
|
2.30% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
2.26% |
£1,000 |
Online |
*Expected profit rate
Three-year bonds
Now let’s now take a look at how the three-year bonds are shaping up.
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Account access |
|
Al Rayan Bank |
2.73%* |
£1,000 |
Online, in-branch, post, online |
|
2.70% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
Milestone Savings |
2.65% |
£10,000 |
Online |
|
2.55% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
Shawbrook Bank |
2.55% |
£5,000 |
Online, post |
|
National Counties Building Society |
2.51% |
£10,000 |
Online, in-branch, post, phone |
|
UBL |
2.50% |
£2,000 |
In-branch, post |
|
Bank of Cyprus UK |
2.46% |
£10,000 |
Online, in-branch, post, phone |
|
2.45% |
£1,000 |
Post |
|
|
Close Brother Savings |
2.45% |
£10,000 |
Online, post |
*Expected profit rate
Four- and five-year bonds
These longer term bonds are riskier. As the term of the account is at least four years, there’s a bigger chance that market interest rates could move against you. In other words a five-year account paying 3% may look attractive now, but you might be a bit fed up if rates went up and the top instant access accounts were paying 4% in 2016.
With that warning out of the way, here are the top-paying bonds over four and five years.
|
Account |
Term |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Account access |
|
Agri Bank Five-Year Fixed Rate Savings Account^ |
Five years |
3.15% |
£5,000 |
Online |
|
UBL |
Five years |
3.04% |
£2,000 |
Online, branch, post |
|
Five years |
3.02% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
Milestone Savings |
Five years |
3.00% |
£10,000 |
Online |
|
Close Brothers Savings |
Five years |
3.00% |
£10,000 |
Online |
|
Five years |
2.96% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
Five years |
2.95% |
£1,000 |
Online |
^Protected by Malta Depositor Compensation Scheme (up to €100,000) not the UK FSCS
Longer-term bonds
If you want even greater returns you could lock your money up for seven years. Secure Trust Bank is offering a reasonable 3.11% while FirstSave is offering 3.10% for the same term.
While you might end up on an uncompetitive rate in the next few years, at least you'll have had some money coming in over the short term.
Decisions, decisions
Ultimately, deciding how long to tie up your funds is up to you. As we mentioned at the top, you need to weigh up whether the rate of interest you’ll be earning is worth locking away your funds for several years.
You should also bear in mind that in the majority of cases, you won’t be able to make additional deposits once you’ve opened your fixed-rate bond – so again, this may put you off tying up your funds for too long. As always, make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully.
Finally, don’t forget about tax-free savings. You can also lock away your money in a fixed rate Cash ISA (or opt for an easy access Cash ISA if you prefer) and you won’t have to pay tax on any interest you earn.
You could earn much more by lending your money via peer-to-peer websites, which cut out the middlemen – the banks and building societies.
And if you don't have too much money to save, several current accounts offer a better rate of interest than even the top-paying fixed rate bonds. For a full round-up of the best rates on a host of cash savings options, take a look at Where to earn most interest on your cash.
This article is regularly updated to reflect the latest rates