Finally! A ray of hope for savers as the National Savings and Investment Bank raises rates for 1.5 million people
- NS&I doubled rates on many of its most popular accounts and helped 1.5 million savers
- Treasury-Backed Bank’s Direct Saver Pays 1.2% Over 0.5% for 340k Depositors
- NS&I came under fire this year for not doing enough to help UK savers
- Savers get ‘significant boost’ in cost of living, says financial expert
About 1.5 million savers are getting a much-needed boost after NS&I raises interest rates.
National Savings and Investments (NS&I) doubled rates on many of its most popular accounts yesterday.
The Treasury-backed bank’s Direct Saver now pays 1.2 percent, an increase of 0.5 percent.
More than 340,000 savers who have a total of £31bn in the easily accessible account will earn a total of £216m in interest per year as a result.
A further 260,000 customers with NS&I Income Bonds saw their rate rise by the same amount and will receive £130 million more in interest per year.
About 1.5 million savers get a much-needed boost after NS&I raises interest rates
NS&I has doubled the interest on some of its most popular savings accounts
The rate of Direct Isa of NS&I increased from 0.35 percent to 0.9 percent.
And about 80,000 under-18s with Junior Isas now earn 2.2 percent, versus 1.5 percent.
This is the first rate increase that children have benefited from since November 2020.
NS&I came under fire earlier this year for not doing enough to help ailing savers, despite five consecutive increases in the Bank of England’s key rate.
It saw a mass exodus of savers after cutting rates during the pandemic. The bank still doesn’t offer the very best deals on the market, but its accounts are much more generous than major banking giants.
It will also increase interest rates on its growth-guaranteed growth and income-guaranteed fixed-rate bonds and its fixed-income savings certificates from August 1.
NS&I’s one-year Guaranteed Growth Bond rate will rise from 0.1 percent to 1.85 percent.
The two-year version goes up from 0.15 percent to 2.25 percent and the three- and five-year bonds pay 2.55 percent.
The Premium Bond’s prize pool remains the same after the odds of winning improved from 34,500 to 1 to 24,500 to 1 in June. And about 1.5 million depositors in his investment account will still earn a stingy 0.01 percent.
NS&I came under fire earlier this year for not doing enough to help savers, despite five consecutive increases in the Bank of England’s key rate
Laura Suter, head of personal finance at investment firm AJ Bell, said: “The war in the savings market is escalating as interest rates begin to rise and savers can finally start getting a decent return on their money.
‘The increases will give NS&I savers a big boost, which is welcomed in the current tightness in the cost of living.’
Ian Ackerley, chief executive of NS&I, added: ‘NS&I is one of the largest savings organizations in the UK and we are delighted to be raising our interest rates.’
- As many as one in three households is struggling with fuel poverty with a new rise in energy bills in the fall. The fuel price cap will rise by about £260 to £3,245 from Oct. 1, with another increase to £3,364 from Jan. 1, analyst Cornwall Insight estimates. The National Energy Action charity claims this would plunge 8.2 million people into fuel poverty, which is based on a household that spends more than 10 percent of its total income on energy. CEO Adam Scorer said: “Prices expected far exceed previous projections. Current financial support will be insufficient as much of that money will be spent before winter sets in.’