Savings yields near 5%

High-yield savings accounts were still paying as much as 5.00% annual percentage yield on April 22, even as many mainstream banks stayed below 0.40%. (fortune.com) Fortune’s April 22 survey put the top savings rate at 5.00% annual percentage yield, while the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s national savings rate for April 2026 was 0.38%. (fortune.com) (fdic.gov) Other rate trackers showed a narrower top end for widely available online accounts: Yahoo Finance reported leading savings offers around 4.10% annual percentage yield on April 22, and Bankrate listed a top savings rate of 4.21% in April 2026. (finance.yahoo.com) (bankrate.com) Annual percentage yield, or APY, is the standard number banks must use to show what a deposit account pays over a year, including compounding. Federal consumer rules say APY reflects interest and compounding, not promotional bonuses. (consumerfinance.gov) (ecfr.gov) The gap between 0.38% and 4%-plus is large in dollar terms: a $10,000 balance at 0.38% earns about $38 in a year, while 4.10% earns about $410. (fdic.gov) (finance.yahoo.com) These rates have held up because the Federal Reserve has kept its target federal funds range at 4.25% to 4.50% since its March 19, 2025 meeting. Savings rates do not move in lockstep with the Fed, but online banks usually react faster than branch-heavy banks when policy rates stay high. (federalreserve.gov) (forbes.com) Forbes said rates were stabilizing in late April, which kept cash accounts competitive for short-term goals such as travel, emergency funds, or home projects. Certificates of deposit were also paying above 4% in many listings, but those accounts usually require locking money up for a set term. (forbes.com) (finance.yahoo.com) The catch is that the headline 5.00% offers are not always simple, unlimited savings rates. Some top advertised yields come with balance caps, direct-deposit rules, or promotional periods, while many large household-name banks were still closer to 3% to 4% in late April. (forbes.com) (finance.yahoo.com) Safety is a separate question from yield. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says deposits at insured banks are covered up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. (fdic.gov) For savers in April 2026, the message from the rate tables is simple: cash is still paying, but the difference between “a savings account” and the right savings account can be hundreds of dollars a year. (fortune.com) (fdic.gov)