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More on this topic
Top Savings Accounts
All the top deals for standard savings accounts
Top cash ISAs 2022/23
Protect your savings from tax – permanently
Automatic savings apps
Use clever tech that saves for you
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Regular savings accounts
Earn up to 3.5% on your savings
Updated Monthly
Regular savers were hit hard last year, with frequent rate cuts across the board. But it's still possible to earn up to 3.5% interest on savings tax-free. Regular savings accounts are a hidden species designed for you to feed them every month – we've all the top picks in this guide, plus tricks to maximise interest.
Other MSE savings guides...
Top Savings Accounts: Best easy-access and fixed-rate deals
Top Cash ISAs: Save in a permanently tax-free account
Automatic Savings Apps: Clever apps that save for you
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What are regular savings accounts?
The clue's in the name. Most regular savings accounts require you to put money away each month with interest paid yearly (unless otherwise stated). They offer higher interest rates than traditional fixed or easy-access savings accounts, but tend to impose rigid terms and conditions, such as limiting the number of withdrawals you can make, or forcing you to make a deposit every month. And the rate usually only lasts for a year.
Rather watch than read? This little video gives you the regular savings lowdown...
Embedded YouTube Video
Seven regular savings need-to-knows
To help you make the most of a regular savings account, it's worth getting your head around the following need-to-knows...
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While regular savings accounts can pay higher rates of interest, the problem with them is that it takes time to build up the amount of money you have in there. Yet if you have a lump sum of cash, and you want to maximise its earnings, you can still take advantage.
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- Put the lump sum in the top-paying easy-access account.
You'll then start earning interest on the full sum straightaway (see Top Savings Accounts).
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Then, pay in to the regular saver from the easy-access account each month.
The key is to put as much as you can (up to the monthly limit) into the regular savings account to max the interest.This technique is called 'drip-feeding', as you're slowly moving your cash across, month by month. This means every penny you want to save is earning the most it can at any moment. Here's how it should work in practice...
Let's say you have £3,000 in savings. If you start by putting this in a top easy-access account and moving £250 across to a top regular saver in the first month, you'll have £2,750 earning the easy-access rate (eg, 1.5%), and £250 earning the higher regular saver rate (eg, 3.5%).
This way, you can keep getting interest on the lump sum while getting a higher rate on the money you pay in to the regular saver. After 12 monthly payments, the full amount will be in the regular saver. You can then move the whole lot to the top payer at the time and start the process again with a new regular saver (provided they're still around).To get the maximum gain, put as much in as possible in the early months, but always ensure you've enough left to keep up the minimum payments for the account's lifespan. Then you've got as much interest as possible, while meeting the account's terms and conditions.
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Want to see how much you'll earn doing this dripfeeding technique? Find out with our Regular Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the rates on both accounts and it'll tell you how much interest you'll get in total.
- Put the lump sum in the top-paying easy-access account.
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On regular savings, the interest you get will be about half the interest rate of the account. But don't worry, it's not a con – it's just how the maths works out. It's all down to the money being saved monthly rather than in one lump sum.
This has caused confusion and disappointment in the past, with some complaining that they've received less interest than they thought they would. Yet that's because they expected the wrong amount, not because they were underpaid. Here's an example (though for ease we've used a wildly unrealistic interest rate)...
Mr Matt Mattics and his £3,000 savings
Matt has saved a total of £3,000 in a regular savings account paying 10% interest over a year.
What does Matt expect to earn? His simple sum works out that he's put £3,000 in at 10%, therefore he should earn £300 in interest.
Why is this wrong? Matt only had £3,000 in there for the last month; it took a year to build up to that amount. You only earn interest on money in the account. So after the first month he was earning the 10% on just £250, halfway through the year he was earning it on £1,500.
How should Matt work it out? Over the year, his average balance was roughly half the £3,000, in other words £1,500... so Matt should expect to earn about 10% of £1,500 over the year, which is £150.
It's also worth noting that all interest from regular savings accounts is now paid tax-free due to the personal savings allowance. Basic-rate taxpayers can earn £1,000 tax-free and higher-rate taxpayers £500. Additional-rate taxpayers get no allowance.
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Not sure how much interest you'll actually get? Find out with our Regular Savings Calculator.
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The protection you get here is the same as normal savings. Provided your money is in a UK-regulated bank or building society account, it's protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The golden rule is...
The first £85,000 per person, per financial institution is protected.
While that sounds simple, the details are more complex – there are specific rules involving how different banks are registered and what counts as a financial institution. For full info, read our full Are my savings safe? guide.
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How to maximise safety
With most regular savers, limits on the amount you can deposit mean the balance gets nowhere near £85,000, so there's no problem.
But if you have savings in other accounts with the same bank, don't put more than £85,000 in any one institution – spread it around. See how to get 100% safety.
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Top existing customer accounts
The top-paying regular savers come with a big 'but' attached – you must also hold another product from the same provider, usually its current account. You can then fund the regular saver by standing order from that linked account. We've listed key info on the top deals in the table below.
Existing customer regular savers – what we'd go for
First Direct currently pays the highest rate at 3.5% and it's fixed for the year. Though with these accounts, which are reserved for existing current account customers, it's very much a case of "go for the one(s) you can get".
| Provider | Rate (AER) | Max monthly deposit | Can you skip months? | Penalty-free withdrawals allowed? | How to open |
| First Direct | 3.5% fixed for one year | £300 | No | No, rate is also reduced to 0.1% if closed early | Online/ app |
| NatWest | 3.3% variable on up to £1,000 |
£150 | Yes | Yes | Online/ app |
| RBS | 3.3% variable on up to £1,000 |
£150 | Yes | Yes | Online/ app |
| Santander Must have 123 or Select current account |
2.5% fixed for one year | £200 | Yes | Yes | Online / branch |
| Nationwide | 2.5% variable for one year | £200 | Yes | Yes, but rate drops to 0.35% if you make more than 3/year | Online/ app |
Not sure how much interest you'll get? Find out with our Regular Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the rates above, and how much you'll save, and it'll tell you how much you'll earn. The calc also has a mode to show how much more you could earn dripfeeding cash into the regular saver from another account.
Top open-to-all accounts
If you don't have the current account necessary to unlock one of the accounts above, check out the top open-to-all accounts below, which aren't linked to other products.
Recent rate drops mean these open-to-all accounts aren't as lucrative as the top bank-linked accounts. While there are still some decent accounts, they can be beaten by branch-based accounts offered by building societies (check if there's a decent account near you), and most can also be beaten by the top standard easy-access savings account.
Regular savers open to all – what we'd go for
Coventry Building Society pays the top rate of 1.65% and lets you save a large £500 per month. Though you'll pay a penalty to withdraw cash, and the rate's variable, so you'll need to keep an eye on it. If that doesn't suit, the top standard easy-access savings account actually pays more than all the other options in the table, while several other easy-access accounts also pay only a smidgeon less – so could be worth considering first.
| Provider | Rate (AER) | Max monthly deposit | Can you skip months? | Penalty-free withdrawals allowed? | How to open |
| Coventry BS | 1.65% variable for one year | £500 | Yes | No, 30-day interest penalty for withdrawals or early closure | Online/ phone/ post |
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| Principality BS | 1.5% fixed for one year | £250 | Yes | No, but early closure allowed without penalty | Online/ branch |
| Ecology BS | 1.3% variable for one year | £250 | Yes, but account closes if you skip 3+/year | Yes, but account closes if you make more than two per year | Online / post |
Not sure how much interest you'll get? Find out with our Regular Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the rates above, and how much you'll save, and it'll tell you how much you'll earn. The calc also has a mode to show how much more you could earn dripfeeding cash into the regular saver from another account.
Top branch-based regular savers
Local and regional banks and building societies often offer good rates, though you usually need to open accounts in branch. We've listed accounts that pay more or equal to the 'open-to-all' rates above. See if there's a branch near you.
North East England
- Darlington Building Society's regular saver offers 1.8% AER variable on up to £250 a month if you're an existing member or if you live in postcode areas DL, DH, SR, TS, YO or HG. You can open up to three accounts, so in total you could save up to £750 a month.
South West England
- If you're aged 16-25 and live, work or study in Bath, you can get 4.65% AER variable on deposits of £10-£50 a month with this regular saver from Bath Building Society.
East Anglia
- With Suffolk Building Society's regular saver you can get 2% AER fixed until 31 May 2024 on deposits of £10-£50 a month, if you live in postcode areas IP, NR, CO, CM, CB or PE. You need to pay in at least £10/month and you're limited to one penalty-free withdrawal per year (which runs June to May).
West Midlands
- West Bromwich Building Society's regular saver pays 2% AER fixed for 12 months and you can save £10-£100 a month. It has 20+ branches in the West Midlands (find your nearest).
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