Demo rate card3.90% AER / gross p.a. (variable)
The pound values and percentages on this page are invented AcornBank product terms, chosen for a realistic bank-style example. They are not current market offers, an invitation to deposit or invest money or a forecast of what a real bank will pay.
| Product detail | Demo terms |
|---|---|
| Account type | Later-life cash savings |
| Rate, reward or charge | 3.90% AER / gross p.a. (variable) |
| Opening / maximum balance | £500.00 to £100,000.00 |
| Access | Unlimited withdrawals; annual interest remains in the pot unless removed |
| Eligibility in the scenario | A fictional customer aged 55 or over |
| Fees | No model account fee |
| Currency | GBP (£), used solely for fictional calculations |
Try your own numbers
Change the amounts to see what Golden Tail Retirement would do in the story. Fictional figures, no application, no advice.
- Interest in the first year
- £195.00Credited yearly and re-invested
- Extra earned by compounding
- £79.09£975.00 is what paying the interest out would earn over the same term.
- That is per month, roughly
- £16.25First-year interest spread over twelve months.
Year by year, interest re-invested
| Year | Interest that year | Balance | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £195.00 | £5,195.00 | £195.00 |
| 2 | £202.61 | £5,397.61 | £397.61 |
| 3 | £210.51 | £5,608.12 | £608.12 |
| 4 | £218.72 | £5,826.84 | £826.84 |
| 5 | £227.25 | £6,054.09 | £1,054.09 |
Golden Tail Retirement against the rest of investments
| Feature | Golden Tail Retirement3.90% AER · VARIABLE | Canopy Investment Account0.45% CHARGE · GROWTH NOT GUARANTEED | Evergreen Stocks & Shares ISA£20,000 ISA ALLOWANCE · 0.45% CHARGE | Tall Oak SIPP20% TAX RELIEF · 0.50% CHARGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Later-life cash savings | General investment account | Stocks and shares ISA | Self-invested personal pension |
| Rate, reward or charge | 3.90% AER / gross p.a. (variable) | 0.45% total annual charge; growth not guaranteed, illustrated at 2%, 5%, 8% | 0.45% total annual charge; growth not guaranteed, illustrated at 2%, 5%, 8% | 0.50% total annual charge; 20% demo tax relief on contributions; growth not guaranteed |
| Value can fall | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tax-free wrapper | No | No | Yes | No |
| Tax relief on contributions | No | No | No | Yes |
| Annual charge | None | 0.45% | 0.45% | 0.50% |
| Minimum | £500.00 | £100.00 | £100.00 | £25.00 |
Golden Tail Retirement in charts
The same fictional model as the tables below, drawn rather than written. Hover or focus a mark for its value, or open the table view.
Interest credited annually and rounded to the penny; figures exclude tax unless the wrapper is tax-free.
View as a table
| Category | Interest |
|---|---|
| £1,000 | £39.00 |
| £5,000 | £195.00 |
| £10,000 | £390.00 |
| £25,000 | £975.00 |
| £50,000 | £1,950 |
A scenario, not a forecast: a rate change would move every later point.
View as a table
| Point | Balance |
|---|---|
| Start | £5,000 |
| Year 1 | £5,195 |
| Year 2 | £5,398 |
| Year 3 | £5,608 |
| Year 4 | £5,827 |
| Year 5 | £6,054 |
What could your balance look like after 12 months?
| Opening deposit | Demo AER | Interest earned | Closing balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,000.00 | 3.90% | £39.00 | £1,039.00 |
| £5,000.00 | 3.90% | £195.00 | £5,195.00 |
| £10,000.00 | 3.90% | £390.00 | £10,390.00 |
| £25,000.00 | 3.90% | £975.00 | £25,975.00 |
| £50,000.00 | 3.90% | £1,950.00 | £51,950.00 |
| £100,000.00 | 3.90% | £3,900.00 | £103,900.00 |
Assumptions: one opening deposit, no additions or withdrawals, no fees or tax, and the stated rate for the whole period. Interest is credited once at each anniversary and rounded to the nearest penny, with half-pennies rounded up. AER and gross p.a. match in this annual-credit model.
If £5,000.00 stayed for longer
| Anniversary | Interest that year | Balance | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £195.00 | £5,195.00 | £195.00 |
| 2 | £202.61 | £5,397.61 | £397.61 |
| 3 | £210.51 | £5,608.12 | £608.12 |
| 4 | £218.72 | £5,826.84 | £826.84 |
| 5 | £227.25 | £6,054.09 | £1,054.09 |
The variable rate is held constant solely to show annual compounding. These are scenarios, not forecasts; a future rate change would change every later row. Figures are before inflation.
Golden Tail Retirement is later-life cash savings in the Investments range, used for a cash reserve for a slower pace of life. Its live rate card, summary and worked tables sit above this text and update whenever the product record changes.
Understand the headline rate
Savings AER expresses annual interest including compounding where relevant; gross means before tax and tax-free means the demo ISA wrapper deducts none. APR and EAR describe borrowing costs on different stated bases. Cashback and 0% offers are perks on qualifying activity, not interest on a balance. Compare matching measures and read the assumptions below before comparing the numbers.
See the whole Investments range or compare every product on the rates page.
What the example does not promise
All figures are invented and shown to make the demo useful to read and crawl. No money is held, no application is available, and no deposit-protection, regulatory or tax-wrapper status is claimed. Calculations do not account for personal tax, inflation or unstated changes in rates. The fictional bank manager can guarantee only that the next paragraph contains no real acorns.
Related reading
- This Is a Fictional Bank — No Real Banking Here
- Site Map — Every Branch of AcornBank
- Rates — Savings, Borrowing and Rewards
- Help — Unruffle Your Tail
- Investments — Longer Afternoons, Later Acorns
- Golden Tail Retirement — Nutworthy Features
- Golden Tail Retirement — Which Squirrels Can Join?
AcornBank: entirely fictional banking, exceptionally committed squirrels.