Saving for the future

Discover straightforward ways to save from industry experts. Whatever the future holds, we’re here to help simplify saving.

Swipe to view

Brilliant basics

How to save for something big

Our customers share their top saving tips for everything from bricks and mortar to a new motor.

Jargon buster

If you’re planning your finances for the future, it’s a good idea to spend a bit of time learning the acronyms, abbreviations and all the other terms. Here are some to get you started.

The amount of money you have in a bank account. It can also mean the amount of money you owe a lender or creditor.

AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate. An AER is intended to make savings accounts easier to compare. The standard AER comparison is based on the interest you’d get by putting money into an account and leaving it for one year.

AMC equals Asset Management Company. These companies invest clients’ money in a wide range of investments which the individual wouldn’t be able to otherwise access.

No relation to James. A bond is a savings account which earns a fixed rate of interest over a set period of time. Bond terms can vary between one and five years, and the longer the term the higher the rate of interest tends to be.

An Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a savings account where you don’t pay tax on the interest you earn. As your earnings are tax-free, this means you get to keep everything that you invest and earn. There are four different types of ISAs: cash ISAs, stocks and share ISAs, innovative ISAs and lifetime ISAs.

An IFA is a professional who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to advise on suitable financial products after researching the whole market and a customer’s needs and circumstances.

This is the money that you earn on a credit balance (for example: money in your savings account), or the money that you are charged on a debit balance (for example: an overdraft).

A charge you pay to the government – there are different types of tax but income and inheritance tax are two of the most widely known.

Magic words. This simply means that you don’t have to pay tax. For example, with a tax-free Cash ISA, you don’t pay tax on any interest you earn.

A tax year has its own calendar year: it runs from 6 April until 5 April on a rolling basis.

A tax year for ISAs follows the same dates as the tax year (6 April until 5 April). The current ISA subscription limit is £20,000 for the 2019/20 tax year.

The term is the period of time your investment runs for.

This stands for Total Expense Ratio. In very simple terms: it’s the total cost of a fund divided by the total fund’s assets. This generates a percentage figure. Costs include management fees and operational expenses like legal fees. The TER is important to investors as the costs are written off against the fund’s returns, affecting their individual profits.

Useful links


Money Advice Service
How to save money, types of savings accounts and getting started with investing.

Help with understanding the tax paid on savings interest and your Personal Savings Allowance.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
Information about the UK’s Deposit Guarantee Scheme which protects your money should anything happen to your bank, building society or credit union.

Bank of England
Latest news and announcements from England’s central bank.
