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You Can Still Earn Above 5% on Yo🙈ur Savings—No Matter Your Balance

Thanks to the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Reserve's aggressive rate-hike campaign of 2022–2023—which aimed to bring down decades-high 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:inflation—rates on high-yield savings accounts surged to their highest level in over 20 years. Reaching a p✤eak of 5.55% in April, the leading nat𝔉ionwide rate is still near that high, at 5.50% APY.

However, not all accounts are created equal, even if they have a similar 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:annual percentage yield (APY). Some require a larger opening de⛎posit than you may be able to muster. Others have low op🥀ening requirements but then stipulate a high ongoing balance if you want to earn the top rate or avoid fees.

That's what makes the 10 accounts below the best of the best for modest savers. Not only do they pay nation-leading rates—ranging from 5.00% to 5.50%—but they also require little or even no money for the opening deposit or an ongoing balance, making their great rates accessible to most people.

Where Are Savings Account Rates Headed?

Savings accounts, by definition, are variable-rate accounts, meaning the bank or 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit union can change your interest rate anytime it wants—and without warning. One of the main drivers for how institutions set savings account rates is the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:federal funds rate. Though banks and the Fed don't move exactly in lockstep on their rate🙈s, the꧟y generally head in the same direction.

Unfortunately for savers, last month the Fed kicked off what's expected to be a series of rate cuts. It started with a significant 0.50 percentage point reduction on Sept. 18, bringing the fed funds rate range to 4.75%–5.00%. Additional cuts are expected in 2024 and 2025—and possibly even in 2026. Eac𝓡h cut that comes to pass will put downward pressure on savings account rates.

But it's good to keep some perspective here. Even if the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best savings account rate comes down from today's 5.50% to maybe 4.50% by the end of the year or even 3.50% by the end of 2025, these are still historically high returns. You can see this easily in the graph below, which shows that back in 2022, before the Fed's rate-hike campaign, the rate of the highest-paying natio♌nwide savings account was a meager 0.70% APY.

To Guarantee Your Futur🀅e Retu♋rns, Consider a Top CD

If you can commit to not touching some of your savings for months or years, it's a smart time to open one of the nation's best 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:certificates of deposit (CDs)—before rates fall further. While APYs on new CDs will🌊 drift lower with the fed funds rate, a CD you open now will have a guaranteed return that's yours to keep𝔍 until the CD matures.

With our 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:daily ranking of the best CD rates, you can lock in a ratꦚe of 5.00% to 5.50% with the best 6-month CDs or 4.75% to 5.05% with a 1-year CD. If you can commit some of your savings even longer, the longest CD term paying at least 5.00% is currently 30 months, which would guarantee your rate until spring 2027—no matter how many rate cuts the Fed makes.

If you decide to open a CD, it's best to act fast. Like savings accounts, CD APYs are on a downswing. So move quickly to lock in one of today's great CD rates while you still can.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that's below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:read our full methodology.