As banks and other financial institutions start to get tough in the wake of the global economic slowdown, the days of putting money into a piggy bank every so often look distant indeed.

No longer are consumers able to just opt for a simple savings or current account and not worry about the state of their personal finances for weeks at a time.

Instead, even the simplest of high street products has now become a near-minefield of terms and conditions which could leave those customers who fail to pick through the small print seriously out of pocket.

Notably, new research carried out by Sainsbury's Finance in collaboration with Defaqto revealed that, on balances of £1,000, a significant proportion of instant or easy access savings accounts currently being offered to UK consumers come with any number of conditions applied.

For example, 12 of the top 50 products in this area restrict the number of withdrawals a customer can make, while four even apply a penalty charge for customers accessing their own money.

What's more, nine of the products analysed were found to be restricted to adults of a certain age, for example with people over the age of 60 only permitted to benefit from some of the best rates, while younger savers have to make do with pretty poor returns by comparison.

Helen Cook, head of savings at Sainsbury’s Finance, explained: "There's a trend for these conditions to be increasing.

"You can see from 2005 to 2008 the number of accounts that have got restrictions for the number of withdrawals allowed has increased significantly.The number of accounts with penalties has also increased."

While customers approaching the age of retirement benefit from healthy returns on their savings, with banks all too happy to hold onto their large amounts they have built up over the years, younger savers are often left struggling to decide whether it's worth taking a financial hit and dip into their pots in order to deal with the rising cost of living currently being witnessed across the country.

Significantly, those people in their 20s or 30s are the most likely to need to break into their savings as they often have the largest outgoings, whether this be meeting rising mortgage costs or paying school fees, and therefore it is this group which really needs to take the time to shop around for the best high street savings account deals.

Sadly, however, a significant number of people are still too apathetic about their personal finances, even though just a few minutes research could save them a tidy sum in the long run.

"Despite all our intentions, and people thinking they want a high rate, actually, when it comes down to it, many don't get round to switching," Ms Cook added.

And it seems a safe bet that the nation's banks will be only too happy to keep charging customers for access to their hard-earned money.