5-Year Fixed Rate Savings Accounts
Earn a fixed interest rate on your savings for five years, giving you certainty about the rate you will receive throughout the term. Five-year fixed-rate accounts may suit money you can leave untouched for an extended period, although withdrawals are usually restricted and account conditions vary between providers.
Compare 5-Year Fixed Rates Savings Account
Compare 5-year fixed rate savings providers and account options, including the key features, costs and minimum contributions that can help you understand how different accounts work.
Other providers
Calfiny does not have a commercial relationship with the following providers. We do not receive a commission from them and you will need to contact the provider directly if you are interested in one of these products.
Atom 5-Year Fixed Rate Saver
✓FSCSPROTECTED
Interest
- AER
- 5.2%
- Gross rate
- 5.2%
- Interest paid
- Annually
Deposits
- Minimum deposit
- £50
- Maximum deposit
- £100,000
Access
- Withdrawals
- Not Permitted
Eligibility
- Minimum age
- 18
- UK resident
- Required
Tandem Bank 5-Year Fixed Term Saver
✓FSCSPROTECTED
Interest
- AER
- 5.06%
- Interest paid
- Annually
Deposits
- Minimum deposit
- £0
- Maximum deposit
- £250,000
- Funding window
- 14 days
Access
- Withdrawals
- Not Permitted
Eligibility
- Minimum age
- 18
- UK resident
- Required
Open & manage
- Open
- Mobile App
- Manage
- Mobile App
Important account conditions
The interest from your account will be paid directly to a UK current account in your name annually and at the end of the fixed term. The balance in your account will be the same as when you first funded the account, as all your interest is paid into your
linked current account.
Zopa Bank 5-Year Fixed Rate
✓FSCSPROTECTED
- Choose to either compound your interest or have it paid to you
Interest
- AER
- 3.8%
- Gross rate
- 3.73%
- Interest paid
- Monthly
Deposits
- Minimum deposit
- £0
- Maximum deposit
- £250,000
- Funding window
- 30 days
Access
- Withdrawals
- Not Permitted
Eligibility
- Minimum age
- 18
- UK resident
- Required
- Notes
- You will be required to fund your account within 30 days of opening.
Open & manage
- Open
- Mobile App
- Manage
- Mobile App
How do 5-year fixed-rate savings accounts work?
A 5-year fixed-rate savings account pays an agreed interest rate for a term of approximately 60 months. The rate normally remains unchanged throughout the term, regardless of movements in the wider savings market.
In return, your money is generally committed until maturity. Many providers do not permit withdrawals or early closure, while others may impose restrictions or penalties. Accounts can also differ in their deposit requirements, interest-payment arrangements and maturity conditions.
Easy-Access vs Fixed-Rate Savings Accounts →See how interest could grow your savings
Use the Compound Interest Calculator to explore how a savings balance could grow at different interest rates and over different periods. Results are illustrative and may differ from an account provider’s actual interest arrangements.
Explore the Compound Interest Calculator →
When might a 5-year fixed-rate savings account be useful?
A five-year fixed term may be relevant when you have savings you do not expect to need for approximately 60 months and want certainty about the interest rate throughout that period.
Your savings goal is several years away
A five-year term may suit money intended for a planned expense around maturity, provided the timing of your goal is reasonably predictable.
How to Choose a Savings Account for Your Goal→You want to protect an agreed rate for longer
Fixing for five years means reductions in newly available savings rates will not affect your existing rate during the term.
You have accessible savings for unexpected costs
Keeping sufficient money available elsewhere can reduce the risk of needing funds committed to a long fixed-rate account.
How Much Emergency Savings Should You Have?→You are comfortable with a longer commitment
A five-year account may appeal if you prefer to secure a rate for several years and accept that better rates could become available before maturity.
A five-year fixed term requires confidence that you will not need the money during the commitment period. Consider how changes in your circumstances could affect your ability to leave the savings untouched.
What are the trade-offs of locking savings away for five years?
Five years is a substantial commitment for money held in a savings account. The main decision is whether securing today’s interest rate for that period is worth giving up the flexibility to access your savings or respond to changing market conditions.
What a five-year term can offer
Certainty across several rate cycles
Your agreed interest rate remains unchanged for five years, even if the Bank of England changes Bank Rate or providers reduce the rates offered on new savings accounts.
Reduced exposure to falling rates
If savings rates decline over the coming years, you avoid having to reinvest at lower rates after one, two or three years. However, this advantage depends on how rates actually develop.
More time for interest to accumulate
Over five years, interest retained in the account can generate further interest, increasing the total return compared with interest calculated only on the original deposit.
What Is Compound Interest?→What you give up in return
Flexibility over a substantial period
Five years is long enough for employment, housing, family circumstances or financial priorities to change. If withdrawals are prohibited, you may be unable to use the money even when an unexpected need arises.
The ability to respond to higher rates
If savings rates rise significantly after opening the account, your money may remain committed at a lower rate for several years. The longer the remaining term, the longer you may have to wait before switching.
Protection against rising living costs
A fixed interest rate provides certainty over the nominal return, not what your money will buy. If inflation exceeds the interest earned over the five years, the purchasing power of your savings will fall.
How Inflation Affects Savings→Choosing a five-year fixed term involves making a judgement about both future interest rates and your own financial needs. A competitive rate today is only part of the decision; the ability to leave the money untouched for the entire term is equally important.
What should you compare between 5-year fixed-rate savings accounts?
Although accounts may share the same five-year term, their rates, deposit requirements and conditions can differ. Understanding these details is particularly important when your money may be committed for several years.
Annual Equivalent Rate (AER)
Compare the annualised rates offered by different providers, while also checking how and when interest is paid.
Minimum and maximum deposits
Check the amount required to open the account and whether the provider places a limit on the balance you can deposit.
Funding window
Some providers require the full deposit at opening, while others allow additional payments for a limited period.
Interest payments and compounding
Interest may be paid monthly, annually or at maturity. Where interest remains in the account, it may earn further interest over the five-year term.
Withdrawal and closure conditions
Check whether early withdrawals or closure are permitted and whether any restrictions or penalties apply.
Maturity arrangements
Confirm the account’s end date, how maturity instructions are handled and what happens if you do not respond.
Deposit protection
Check the provider’s authorisation and whether your eligible deposits fall within the applicable FSCS protection arrangements.
Reassessing your savings when a five-year fixed term ends
Five years can bring significant changes to your financial circumstances and the wider savings market. When your account matures, it provides an opportunity to reconsider how the money fits into your plans rather than automatically committing it to another long fixed term.
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01
Consider how your financial priorities have changed
Money originally set aside for a distant goal may now be needed sooner, or your circumstances may have changed. Before selecting another account, consider whether you still want to keep the full balance committed or would benefit from greater access.
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02
Reassess the savings market
Interest rates and available account types may be very different from those offered when you opened the account. Compare current rates across easy-access, notice and fixed-term savings accounts rather than assuming another five-year commitment offers the best option.
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03
Choose what happens to your matured balance
Check your provider’s maturity instructions and any default arrangements. Depending on the options available, you may decide to withdraw the money, divide it between accounts with different access conditions or commit some or all of it to another fixed term.
How are easy access savings protected?
Eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks, building societies and credit unions may qualify for Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection, subject to the scheme’s rules and limits.
