Member Article

Savers lose £18m due to QE

UK savings have declined in value as the Bank of England’s £325 billion quantitative easing programme keeps inflation high and outpaces low interest rates on savings and current accounts.

According to accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, there is £115 billion deposited in accounts with zero interest, while traditionally higher interest rate accounts such as Isas are losing value, as they are paying out an average of 2.86%.

This means that savers are losing almost £18 billion a year.

Mark Giddens, partner at UHY Hacker Young said: “Savers are losing a staggering amount of money as inflation slowly erodes away billions from the nation’s savings.

These rates are concerning for many savers, in particular pensioners, who have seen their savings damaged by policies which set out to help borrowers and banks.

Commenting on the financial situation, Ros Altmann, director general of over-50s group saga said: “Quantitative easing is a massive monetary experiment that has not clearly boosted the economy as intended but instead has boosted inflation and damaged pensions.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .