More than one million in the UK could be missing out on up to £4,700 a year
More than one million Brits are failing to take advantage of straightforward opportunities to boost their savings.
Analysis by savings provider Spring revealed there were 1.04 million current accounts containing over £50,000 at the end of March this year that earned zero interest, with a combined £116billion languishing unused. The typical balance in these accounts stood at £111,537. The figures are set to renew debate about whether banks are fulfilling their obligations to savers.
While numerous high street banks offer minimal or zero interest on current account balances, they utilise these deposits to fund lending through mortgages, personal loans and credit cards, where consumers generally encounter far steeper borrowing charges.
The disparity between what banks generate from loans and what they distribute to savers has contributed to a substantial increase in profits throughout the industry in recent years. Britain’s largest banking institutions continue to deliver substantial earnings.
Lloyds Banking Group announced pre-tax profits of £6.7bn for 2025, representing a 12% increase on the preceding year, while NatWest declared pre-tax profits of £7.7bn, marking a 25% rise.
Based on Spring’s examination of data from consumer insights company Caci, 79 million of the UK’s 91 million current accounts in credit – approximately 87% – offered no interest whatsoever on balances. Derek Sprawling, head of money at Spring, indicated that many people remain oblivious to their losses. He said: “Often, it comes down to convenience or habit, but with balances of £50,000 or more, the missed returns can be significant.”
Spring’s survey revealed that 36% of people keep their savings with their main current account provider, while 21% leave savings sitting directly in their current account. The firm said a mixture of habit, uncertainty and confusion was stopping people from transferring money into better-paying accounts. The cost of inaction can be considerable.
According to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator, something that cost £100 in 2016 would now set you back around £140. Inflation currently sits at 2.8%, though it reached a peak of 11.1% in October 2022 during the cost of living crisis.
In contrast, savers prepared to move their money can achieve substantially better returns. Finance website Moneyfacts says the average easy-access savings account currently pays around 2.5%, while the average one-year fixed-rate account offers 4.23%.
Savers are missing out on an average of £4,700 a year based the average balance of £111,537 and the average one-year fixed savings rate of 4.23%.
Cash ISAs pay comparable rates, with one-year fixed deals averaging 4.25%. Interest earned within a cash ISA remains tax-free, which helps explain why savers have been rushing to make use of the allowance before planned changes come into force.
Bank of England figures show savers deposited £12bn into cash ISAs in April alone – the second-highest monthly inflow on record. The surge comes ahead of a planned reduction in the annual cash ISA allowance from £20,000 to £12,000 from April 2027.
Charlene Young, senior pensions and savings expert at AJ Bell, said many savers were eager to make the most of the current allowance while it remains available. However, she cautioned that inflation continues to pose a risk to cash sitting in accounts offering poor returns.
She said: “We already had sticky inflation before the Iran conflict, and further surges are expected as the full impact of supply chain disruption and energy shocks filters through.”
