The amount of money held in adult savings accounts earning 1.5% or less has reached more than £300 billion, new analysis by Spring has revealed.
The savings app’s analysis of CACI data showed that 51.3 million savings accounts are earning 1.5% or less in interest, far below the rate of inflation, totalling £338 billion.
The average balance held in accounts earning this lower level of interest is £6,593, but the vast majority of funds accounting for £284 billion, are held in accounts with balances of more than £10,000.
Meanwhile, there are over 372,000 accounts with balances of more than £100,000 earning 1.5% or less, holding a combined total of £73.7 billion.
The average interest rate paid on accounts earning less than 1.5% is 1.03%, while accounts with balances of £10,000 or more pay an average of 1.05%.
Derek Sprawling, head of money at Spring, said: “The fact that £338 billion is sitting in savings accounts earning an average rate of just 1.03% shows just how much money is lying idle in low-paying accounts.
“The vast majority of this money is held in accounts with more than £10,000, with some savers holding far more while earning next to nothing. Savers may think they need to accept these rates in return for instant transfers to their current account, but that’s no longer the case.”
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