Top bank accounts for pensioners and retirees

Charges for overdrawing your bank account, missing monthly deposit quotas and minimum balance requirements can add up significantly over time. And unfortunately, it’s often retirees and those already struggling to cover their bills who are often paying those fees and charges.

The good news is it’s quite simple to avoid unnecessary fees when you’re on a limited income. There are genuine bank accounts out there that will work with your personal situation. Look for an everyday bank account that has features like no monthly deposit or minimum balance requirements, limited fees on overdraws and no monthly fees.

You can compare bank account features and basic fees quickly and easily using Mozo's handy bank account comparison tool.

But to assess the cream of the crop, check out the 2022 Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Bank Accounts. Here, you'll find a bunch of accounts with no or minimal fees, plus plenty of useful fee-free features like banking for overseas transactions or rewards points.

For these awards, the Mozo data team assessed pensioner accounts in their own award category, so retirees can manage their balance and pension income with fee-free banking. The five top accounts were:

• Bank First Pension Account
• Goldfields Money Retire-Style
• Heritage Bank Pension Plus
• P&N Bank & Retirement Account
• The Mutual Bank Retirement Account
  
• Queensland Country Bank Pension Plus

If you have some spare savings, you can make some minimal-effort income by putting them in an interest-earning savings account instead of your low interest everyday transaction account. If you struggle to savings deadlines, you’ll want to look around for a savings account with ongoing high interest and restrictions on transactions or deposit requirements.

Generally, these kinds of condition-free accounts won’t offer bonus interest that’ll bump up your earnings. So, make sure you also compare high interest savings accounts to see if there are options with bonus interest-earning criteria that’s achievable and within your monthly budget.

You can find savings accounts offering great deals for different kinds of savers at the Mozo Experts Choice Awards page.

• Keep the bulk of your cash in a savings account and move it across to the transaction account when needed. It’s easy to do with online, phone and in-app banking, and will see your money earning interest.
• Get into the habit of doing an annual review of your bank accounts to make sure that you’re always getting the best deal for your money.
• Set up automatic payments from your bank account for things like debt repayments as well as internet, phone and rent or mortgage bills to avoid paying late fees.