Savings rates hit record low one year after first Covid lockdown sparking fears of apathy among account holders
- Savings rates continue to fall to record low since the start of UK’s first lockdown
- Average easy access savings rate is less than a third of what it was a year ago
- There are 383 fewer deals on market, including cash Isas, than there last year
Average savings rates are continuing to tumble to record lows a year on from the start of the first UK coronavirus lockdown, analysis has found.
The average easy access savings rate is less than a third of what it was a year ago, Moneyfacts.co.uk said.
The typical easy access rate on the market slumped to a record low of 0.16 per cent at the start of this month, according to the site.
According to Moneyfacts.co.uk, average easy access savings rate is less than a third of what it was a year ago. Picture: Stock
On March 1, 2020, weeks before the first lockdown on March 23, the average easy access rate on the market was more than three times this, at 0.56 per cent.
The average easy access Isa rate now sits at a record low of 0.23 per cent, compared with 0.83 per cent on March 1, 2020.
The only cash savings accounts to buck the downward trend in March 2021 were notice accounts, which edged up to 0.37 per cent from 0.36 per cent the month before.
But it is still lower than the average rate of 1 per cent offered a year ago.
Moneyfacts.co.uk’s research said there are 383 fewer deals on the market, including cash Isas, than there were last year, with 1,385 products.
Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: ‘As interest rates sit at an unprecedented level, it would not be too surprising to see apathy among savers when it comes to switching, or perhaps look away from cash savings vehicles altogether.’