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Eligible deposits with UK institutions are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to a maximum level of protection of £85,000 per person per institution.
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Looking into notice accounts more closely, you’ll see that some allow you to withdraw your money early, although this typically results in a penalty equal to the number of days’ notice you were supposed to give. On the opposite side of the spectrum, you’ll also find accounts that restrict the number of withdrawals you can make per year, so you won’t just have to schedule in when you want access to your savings but also keep the extra limitations in mind.
As notice periods can vary from 30 days to half a year, savers will have to decide for themselves what the best notice account is for them and if they think they’ll need to withdraw money at shorter notice. Don’t forget to consider how you can manage the account, either, as this will limit how quickly you’ll be able to request access.
As stated, the notice account that’s best for you will depend largely on your personal circumstances. However, there are some questions you can ask yourself to narrow down the search.
First and foremost, you’ll want to ask yourself how long you can afford to wait to gain access to your cash. If you want to set the money aside for an emergency fund, you’ll want the option to not give any notice at all, as you never know when something will break that needs fixing. Because of the notice penalty that is likely to come with this, it might be a good idea to get an account with a short notice period, or even an easy access account for complete flexibility. If you want to use a notice account to save up for your wedding or a holiday, the choice becomes much easier, as you’ll know exactly on what date you’ll need to access the money again.
Second, you could ask yourself how flexible you want the account to be. Are you happy to sign up for an account that doesn’t even allow early access on a penalty, or would you like the option to make withdrawals even if it will cost you?
Other things to watch out for when it comes to account details is to make sure the deposit requirement fits your needs, so you can put away as much or as little as you want, and that you can open and manage the account via the method that is most suitable to your situation. You can find all this information in the above details of your potential account. Once you’ve got your personal criteria figured out, you can simply look for the account that offers the highest interest rate for the notice period you are after.
If you change your mind, it’s best to contact your provider directly, especially if they only allow a limited number of withdrawals per year.
Joint accounts usually consider both savers equal owners of the funds in the account. As such, either one of you should be able to give notice and withdraw funds separately. However, always check with the specific provider to make sure what their particular policy is, as some may require a main account holder to be appointed.
Notice accounts can be a great way to save without having to give up control of your money completely. However, they won’t be right for everyone.
As an alternative, an easy access account (with or without fixed bonus) is great for that essential emergency savings pot and allows you not to worry about giving notice or being penalised for needing urgent access. Fixed rate bonds, meanwhile, are suitable for large pots of money that you know you won’t need access to for a while and you want to get as high a rate of interest on as is possible.
You could also consider one of the top monthly interest paying accounts, which can be easy access, notice or even fixed rate products. What they all have in common is that interest is paid on a monthly basis, allowing you to gain a steady income from your savings or compound interest throughout the year.
With no restriction on the number of savings accounts you can open in a year, you can have all kinds of different accounts. Indeed, it’s probably sensible to have an emergency pot as well as a savings account that can earn you a higher return. Whether the latter will be a notice account or a fixed rate bond will depend entirely on what you need – are you happy with a variable rate, or would you rather lose access to your funds for a while so you can get a higher, set rate?
If you can’t decide, use our general savings search to compare all types of savings deals.
