The number of savings accounts earning 1% or less in interest rose by 2,340% in 2025, an increase of over £67bn, research by Spring has found.

Analysis of CACI data by the savings app revealed that £69.9bn is currently sat in account earning 1% or less in adult instant access accounts as of December 2025, rising from £2.9bn at the end of January 2025.

Spring said that the change was driven by decreasing product rates on instant access accounts throughout the year.

The number of accounts earning 1% or less also increased by 1,303% from 1.6 million in January to 22 million in December.

The average balance held in accounts earning 1% or less was £3,133 and the majority of balances are held in accounts with balances of more than £10,000, which the savings app said leaves huge amounts of money earning next to nothing.

CACI data showed that the biggest increase in balances came between June and July 2025, as they tripled from £9bn to £30bn in one month, and as providers with low-paying accounts reduced rates even further.

Head of money at Spring, Derek Sprawling, said the latest figures "lay bare just how much of the nation’s savings is being quietly eroded".

He stated: "Nearly £70bn sitting in savings accounts paying 1% or less is an extraordinary amount of money to be earning next to nothing, especially when many households are working hard to make their cash stretch further.

"The sharp increase seen during the summer demonstrates how quickly savers can be left behind when their current account providers reduce rates. Furthermore, the data does not reflect the cuts made by some of the largest banks in early 2026 following December’s bank base rate decrease."

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