Choose the best account for fixed incomes

If you are a pensioner, or simply have a fixed income you can follow these guidelines to get the best account.

08:27 02 February 2014

There are many milestones in life that cause us to re-evaluate certain things and retirement is one of those milestones. Living off a pension may mean cutting back on spending, and it typically means a fixed income. It’s a good time to review the type of bank account you currently have to see if it might be more than you actually need, or more expensive than necessary. 

 

Here are a few things to look for when searching for accounts and comparing:

 

• Certain accounts may entail charges for each cheque that is written. Some may allow a certain number of cheques to be written before charging fees for subsequent cheques. If you will not write many cheques than this might not matter, but if you will still be writing a few you may want to search for an account that will not charge for cheque writing. 

 

• You may not ever need to use authorised overdrafts but as a retiree living off a fixed income you may find yourself in need of that option. Review the fees and terms of overdrafts for a few different banks. Some may charge lower fees or interest rates on repaying overdraft amounts. 

 

• When you are on a fixed income it is even more important to do what you can to ensure that you keep as much money in your pocket as possible. One of the ways you can do that is by comparing interest rates offered by a number of different banking institutions. Regular accounts do not usually earn much interest, but you will want to get the best interest possible as long as the other terms, such as fees, also work out best for you. 

 

• Banks may require certain balances, or a certain level of activity during the month such as the number of deposits made to the account.