Record low interest rates have robbed savers of more than £70billion while printing money to revive the economy has mainly benefited the rich, the Bank of England admitted yesterday.
But critics have long claimed that ultra-low interest rates have hammered Britain’s army of savers and the decision to print money has led to a ‘death spiral’ in pensions by slashing annuity rates.
Savers have lost out heavily since rates were cut from 5 per cent in September 2008, with some claiming the loss is nearer £100billion when inflation is taken into account.
The Bank yesterday admitted that savers were among the biggest losers from its policies and the richest families the biggest winners – with QE boosting household wealth ‘by just over £600billion’ as the value of shares and other assets recovered in the wake of the financial crisis.