If you are planning to retire in 2024 or 2025, you might be looking for a few safer ways to continue to grow your money. While the stock market can be volatile, certificates of deposit (CDs) offer fixed annual percentage yields (APYs) for a set period of time. So if you've got another year or two to save, why not stash some cash in a CD that pays over 5.00%?

You may be thinking that a CD paying just over 5.00% can't compare with the stock market's historical annual returns. And you may be right: The S&P 500 is up 20% since this time last year (as of close Friday, June 16), and that's a lot better than a CD's rate of return rate right now.﷽ However, ga♊ins are not guaranteed with the stock market—but they are with CDs.

The best rates on a CD today range from 4.77% to 5.65% APY, depending on the term. If🅺 you have $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, or more, investin𒁃g in a CD could really pay off.

Here's How Much You Could Earn in 1 Year

The top 1-year CDs pay interest rates well over 5.00%. In our list of daily CD rankings, there are over 30 CDs across all terms paying 5.25% or more, with 15 of those in the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:1-year CD term. Let's use 5.25% as an example. Iꦅf you deposited money into a 1-year CD, meaning you can't touch it for 12 months, with an iဣnterest rate of 5.25% APY, how much would you have come June 2024?

Here's How Much You Could Earn in 18 Months

If you aren't retiring until the end of 2024, or early in 2025, you might have 18 months to let your money grow in a CD. Here's how much you could earn with an 18-month CD that pays 5.25% APY:

If You Can Stretch It to 2025

Retirement is so close you can taste it, right? Well, it might be even sweeter if you wait just a little longer. Similar to how you can receive larger benefit checks from Social Security the longer you wait, a CD with a slightly longer term can also really pay off. Let's look at how your money could grow in a 2-year CD with a rate of 5.25%:

Alternatives

If you need your money to remain liquid before you retire, a good alternative is a high-yield savings account or a money ma🔜rket account. Both have top rates paying over 5.00%🐷 right now.

High-yield savings accounts and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:money market accounts come with variable interest rates. While they're high right now, they could go down in the future. While that likely won't be the case in 2023—the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Fed paused rate hikes at its meeting this past week, and Fed officials signaled that there may be another increase or two before the end of the year—it's still important to know. So shop around and consider a🌄ll of your options before deciding what to do before you retire.

You may decide to leave your cash in your bank account, invest it more in the stock market, or something else. Whatever you do, consider taking advantage of the high-rate environment we're in right now because it may not last into 2024 or 2025.

Rate Collection Methodology Disclosure

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying certificates in every major term. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the CD's minimum initial deposit must not exce🐟e🧸d $25,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:read our full methodology.