Tiny boost for NS&I savers

NATIONAL Savings & Investments is raising its rates on three accounts. But it is short-changing savers by passing on less than the 0.25 point rise in the base rate to 0.75 pc.

On October 1, its Direct Saver will rise from 0.95 pc to 1 pc; its Income Bond rate will rise to 1.15 pc, from 1 pc; and the Investment Account will increase to 0.8 pc from 0.7 pc.

But savers in its easy-access Direct Isa will see a drop from 1 pc to 0.75 pc on September 24 — the same rate earned last October, when base rate was 0.25 pc. The rate paid in prizes for Premium Bond holders out of the £75.5 billion pot remains at 1.4 pc.

NS&I’s chief executive Ian Ackerley says: ‘We have a duty to balance the interests of savers, the taxpayer and broader market stability.’