What is the FSCS protection limit for savings?

Full answer

The FSCS provides an important safety net for UK savers, but understanding exactly what is covered -- and the crucial pitfall of shared banking licences -- is essential to make sure your savings are genuinely protected. **The core protection level** The FSCS protects eligible deposits up to £85,000 per person, per authorised banking institution, in the event that institution fails -- this covers current accounts, savings accounts, and cash ISAs held with banks, building societies, and credit unions authorised by the UK regulators. **Joint accounts get double protection** A joint account held by two people is protected up to £170,000 (£85,000 for each account holder), since the protection is calculated per person, not per account. **The shared banking licence trap** A critical and often-missed detail is that several different savings BRANDS can actually operate under the same underlying banking licence -- if you spread money across multiple brands that share one licence, thinking you have separate £85,000 protection for each, you could actually only have £85,000 combined protection across all of them, since the FSCS protects per authorised institution (licence), not per brand name. **Checking which brands share a licence** Before relying on FSCS protection across multiple accounts to protect savings above £85,000, check the FSCS website or ask each provider directly whether they share a banking licence with any other brand you use -- some well-known savings brands are actually trading names of the same underlying banking group. **Temporary high balance protection** In certain specific circumstances -- such as recently receiving funds from a house sale, inheritance, or insurance payout -- the FSCS provides temporary protection above £85,000 (currently up to £1 million) for a limited period, recognising that large one-off balances can arise from genuine life events before you have had a chance to spread the funds across multiple institutions. **NS&I is separately, fully guaranteed** Money held with National Savings & Investments (NS&I), including Premium Bonds and NS&I savings accounts, is 100% guaranteed by HM Treasury, with no £85,000 cap -- this makes NS&I products attractive for very large cash balances where FSCS-limited protection elsewhere would leave some funds unprotected. **Worked example** Someone has £120,000 in savings and wants full protection. Splitting it as £85,000 in one bank and £35,000 in a genuinely separate bank (with a different underlying licence) would fully protect the total, whereas putting £60,000 and £60,000 into what turn out to be two brands sharing the same licence would leave £35,000 unprotected in the event of failure. **Practical tip** Before spreading large savings balances across multiple providers for FSCS protection purposes, verify each provider's specific banking licence (not just the brand name) using the FSCS website's dedicated checking tool, since assuming protection based on brand names alone is a common and potentially costly mistake.

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