Savings news
33 stories on savings, newest first. Every story is dated and cites its sources.
- September 2026
Tax information and impact note published on cash ISA limit reduction
HMRC has published a tax information and impact note on reducing the annual cash ISA subscription limit to £12,000 for under-65s from 6 April 2027, with the limit for those aged 65 and over unchanged.
- June 2026
Government announces anti-circumvention rules for reduced cash ISA limit
The government has set out anti-circumvention rules to support the reduced £12,000 cash ISA limit for under-65s from April 2027, including transfer restrictions and a 22% charge on interest on cash held in non-cash ISAs.
FSCS raises deposit compensation limit to £120,000
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme raised its deposit protection limit from £85,000 to £120,000 per eligible person per firm on 1 December 2025, after the PRA confirmed final rules in November 2025.
- April 2026
Tool updated with 2026 to 2027 tax year rates
HMRC has updated its online tool for checking tax on dividends and savings interest with the 2026 to 2027 rates, alongside its tax code checker and published Income Tax rates and allowances.
- March 2026
Barclays cuts Rainy Day Saver rates
Barclays cut rates across several savings accounts from 11 March 2026, with its Rainy Day Saver paying 3.96% AER on the first £5,000 and 0.70% AER above that.
- February 2026
Nationwide cuts variable-rate savings rates by up to 0.25 percentage points
Nationwide cut rates across its variable-rate savings products, including instant-access and Isa accounts, by up to 0.25 percentage points from 10 February 2026, as average savings rates continued to fall.
- November 2025
FSCS deposit protection limit rises to £120,000
The Prudential Regulation Authority has confirmed that FSCS deposit protection rises from £85,000 to £120,000 per person, per authorised firm, for firms failing on or after 1 December 2025.
Autumn Budget 2025 announces tax-free savings changes
The Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025 held the £20,000 ISA allowance until April 2031 but set a £12,000 cash ISA limit for under-65s from April 2027 and raised savings tax rates.
Autumn Budget 2025 announces Cash ISA allowance reduction from April 2027
The government has confirmed that from 6 April 2027 the Cash ISA allowance for under-65s will be £12,000, with anti-circumvention rules covering transfers, cash-like assets and interest on cash held in non Cash ISAs.
Help to Save made permanent and set for expansion
The Government has confirmed Help to Save will become permanently available to new savers and will be widened from April 2028 to all Universal Credit households receiving the child or carer's element.
- October 2025
Treasury Committee publishes report recommending no cut to Cash ISA limit
The Treasury Committee has told the Government not to cut the Cash ISA limit, concluding that a lower allowance is unlikely to move significant sums from cash savings into investments.
BSA publishes Budget submission warning against Cash ISA limit cuts
The Building Societies Association has told the Treasury that cutting the annual Cash ISA limit would penalise savers and could reduce mortgage lending and economic output.
- September 2025
Share of savings accounts beating inflation falls to 49%
Which? analysis published on 22 September 2025 found the share of savings accounts paying rates above inflation fell from 80% in January to 49%, as UK Savings Week began.
- August 2025
Interest rate changes to on-sale and off-sale savings accounts
Santander cut rates on a range of ISAs and easy access savings accounts on 11 August 2025, with further reductions to base rate linked accounts following on 2 September 2025.
- July 2025
Open letter urges Chancellor to maintain Cash ISA allowance
More than 50 building societies, trade associations and financial firms wrote to the Chancellor on 9 July 2025 urging the Government to keep the current Cash ISA allowance.
- June 2025
Household saving ratio falls to 10.9% in Quarter 1 2025
The Office for National Statistics says the household saving ratio fell to 10.9% in the first quarter of 2025, down from 12.0%, as real household disposable income per head also declined.
- April 2025
Resolution Foundation publishes report on Universal Credit capital rules
The Resolution Foundation has published a report arguing that Universal Credit capital rules, frozen since 2006, should be indexed from April 2026 and that Help to Save and Lifetime ISA savings should be disregarded.
Help to Save eligibility expanded for Universal Credit claimants
From 6 April 2025, Universal Credit claimants earning £1 or more in their assessment period can open a Help to Save account, replacing the previous 16 hours a week earnings test.
Universal credit earned income condition substituted
The rules governing who qualifies for a Help to Save account on Universal Credit were changed from 6 April 2025, substituting the earned income condition in the 2018 regulations.
Resolution Foundation publishes Saving Penalties report on Universal Credit capital rules
The Resolution Foundation published Saving Penalties, a report on Universal Credit capital rules, estimating 2 million families had reduced entitlement because of savings thresholds.
- March 2025
PRA consults on raising FSCS deposit protection limit to £110,000
The Prudential Regulation Authority has proposed raising the FSCS deposit protection limit from £85,000 to £110,000 from 1 December 2025, with a higher limit for temporary high balances.
PRA consults on raising FSCS deposit protection limit from £85,000 to £110,000 and THB limit from £1 million to £1.4 million
The Prudential Regulation Authority has proposed raising FSCS deposit protection from £85,000 to £110,000 and the temporary high balance limit from £1 million to £1.4 million, both from 1 December 2025.
- October 2024
Autumn Budget 2024 announces expansion of Help-to-Save eligibility to all working Universal Credit claimants
The Government announced at Autumn Budget 2024 that working Universal Credit claimants will be able to open a Help to Save account from 6 April 2025, replacing the previous 16 hours a week earnings test.
- December 2023
Personal deposits end 2023 lower than a year earlier for the first time on record
UK Finance's Household Finance Review for the fourth quarter of 2023 reports that personal deposits ended the year two per cent lower than a year earlier, the first such annual fall on record.
- August 2023
AJ Bell projects 2.7m savers to pay tax on savings interest in 2023-24
AJ Bell predicts 2.7 million savers will pay tax on savings interest in 2023-24, up from 1.8 million last year, as rising rates meet a frozen personal savings allowance.
- July 2023
FCA sets out 14-point action plan on cash savings
The Financial Conduct Authority has launched its Consumer Duty rules and set out a 14-point plan on cash savings to make banks and building societies pass on interest rate rises to savers.
Which? finds six of top 10 instant-access accounts restrict penalty-free withdrawals
Which? analysis of Moneyfacts data has found that six of the ten highest-paying instant-access savings accounts limit withdrawals or require a minimum balance before penalties apply.
- June 2023
Bank of England raises base rate to 5.00%
The Bank of England raised the base rate by 0.50 percentage points to 5.00% on 22 June 2023, taking it from 4.50% and continuing a run of increases that affects mortgages, savings and borrowing costs.
Market expectations for peak Bank Rate rise to nearly 6 per cent after stronger than expected inflation and pay data
Financial markets raised their expected peak for Bank Rate to nearly 6 per cent in mid-2024 after stronger than expected April inflation and pay data, the Resolution Foundation said.
- May 2023
Record net withdrawal from UK savings in May 2023
Bank of England data shows households withdrew £4.6bn more from savings accounts than they paid in during May 2023, the largest net withdrawal since monthly records began in October 1997.