National Savings & Investments (NS&I)

In mid-February, NS&I announced that it would be cutting interest rates across a range of plans from 1 May. Two months later, NS&I changed its mind and announced in a press release under the headline “NS&I supports savers in this unprecedented time”, that it was dropping the planned changes to variable rate products. All then went quiet, leaving NS&I with a range of league-topping interest rates. Between April and June, nearly £20 billion flowed into their products.

On 21 September, NS&I had a change of heart, deciding that reductions were necessary to “ensure NS&I’s interest rates are aligned appropriately against those of competitors”. The cuts, which generally take effect from 24 November, were dramatic, as the table shows.

                            * From December prize draw.

Such microscopic rates will take NS&I towards the bottom of the interest rate league tables. If your income and savings have been affected by the NS&I cuts, make sure you consider all the options for your money.