Savers may be losing out on “hundreds of pounds” by not cashing in on the high interest rate deals available right now.
New research by Shawbrook Bank found that two in five savers (40 percent) don’t know how much money they’re earning – if any – on their savings.
Adam Thrower, head of savings at Shawbrook commented: “Given that the Bank of England says it expects inflation to continue to fall to around 4.5 percent by the end of 2023, and keep falling throughout 2024, it’s reasonable to assume that interest rates on savings are perhaps as good as we’re going to get if those predictions remain.
“If you don’t know what you’re earning on your savings, it’s likely you aren’t earning much and therefore you could be losing out on hundreds of pounds. proceed your money now before it’s too late.
In the last 18 months, savers have seen some of the highest savings rates in decades.
While many providers are still currently offering inflation-beating rates, almost one in five (19 percent) savers have no idea what the interest rate is on their main savings account.
More worryingly, almost a quarter (24 percent) of savers are currently earning two percent interest or less, despite the average rate for an easy access account currently standing at 3.18 percent.
Although top-paying accounts pay considerably more than this, the figure highlights how much savers could be missing out on.
Looking ahead to 2024, just one in 10 said they’d look to switch to a savings account paying a higher interest rate.
This could propose the majority of savers will stumble to benefit from the high rates, which may not be around for much longer following yet another Bank of England Base Rate freeze.
Mr Thrower said: “Taking the simple step of moving £10,000 from an account paying 3.5 percent to a leading Easy Access account paying five percent, savers could see an extra £150 added to their savings.”
Alice Haine, a personal finance analyst at investment platform Bestinvest, said: “The average easy access savings rate [has risen] to 3.18 percent from 0.2 percent in December 2021, with the best deals still topping the five percent mark.
“Now is the time to act, however, if savers don’t want to miss out on the top rates before they disappear.
“While fixed-rate deals of six percent plus became a feature in the summer months, these offers have already disappeared and with rate cuts expected next year, savings rates are likely to ease advance from here.
“Savers with money sitting idle in accounts offering dismal returns should nab a top fixed-rate deal while they still can.”
