Savers can quadruple their interest with very little effort

SAVERS can get more than three times the interest on their cash deposits, but only if they shake off their inertia and move their money.

More than half have not switched their savings in the past year to get a better rate, while over a third have not switched in the past five years.

One in four have never switched even though the average high street easy access account pays just 1.7 per cent, while the best on the market pays 5.2 per cent.

Someone with £20,000 in an average branch-based high street easy access account could make an extra £722 in a year by switching, tripling their interest.

If they switched to a best buy two-year fixed rate they could make an extra £1,537 over the term, said Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Savings rates have fallen from their peak but you can still make more than 5 per cent on easy access savings and one or two-year fixed rate bonds. Yet millions haven’t budged,” Coles said.

Switching to a market-leading account can also protect your deposits against inflation, which erodes their real terms value.

Somebody who left £20,000 in an easy access since 2014 paying just 1 per cent would have earned £1,198 in interest, but its spending power would have fallen to just £15,958 over the decade, according to research from savings platform Raisin UK.

Co-founder Kevin Mountford said: “It’s easy to keep our money in old high street accounts for decades – but plenty of other banks and building societies offer much more competitive interest rates whilst still offering full protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.”