As much as £31.6 billion is languishing in UK adult savings accounts earning 1% interest or less, says Spring.
More than three quarters (77%) of this money, £24.5 billion, is held in accounts containing £10,000 or more, according to analysis of CACI data by Spring.
The rise in the overall balance of accounts earning up to 1% this year has rocketed by over £27 billion between the end of January and end July. Meanwhile, the number of accounts earning up to 1% has surged by 370% to eight million, up from just under two million at the beginning of the year.
The findings come amid a government push for more people to invest their savings rather than keeping them in cash.
Derek Sprawling, head of money at Spring, said: “The scale of money sitting in accounts earning 1% or less is truly eye-opening. Savers with significant balances are seeing their money eroded by inflation, when it could be working much harder elsewhere.
“Our analysis shows that, while a small proportion of accounts hold the majority of these low-earning balances, millions of people are missing out on the benefits of switching to a more rewarding savings account without suffering meaningful downside.”
Main image: robynne-hu-HOrhCnQsxnQ-unsplash
