Will NS&I need to reverse recent rate cuts?

Following the government’s Spring Statement on Wednesday 26th March 2025, National Savings & Investments (NS&I) published its unaudited results for the third quarter of the 2024-25 financial year (that’s October to December 2024) and the numbers are pretty interesting.

So far this tax year, NS&I has pulled in a net £8.9 billion - £5.5 billion in the last quarter alone. The net amount is the difference between all the money coming in from deposits, interest, and customers rolling over their savings – and all the money going out through withdrawals and Premium Bonds prize payouts. For the whole year, the latest forecast suggests NS&I will land at around £10.5 billion, which is within their target range of £9 billion, plus or minus £4 billion.

The fact that it is on to slightly exceed its target could be the reason NS&I has made a series of interest rate reductions to some of its savings accounts recently. However, they are citing the recent base rate reductions as the key reason and NS&I does also have to strike a balance between raising what it needs to, keeping savers happy whilst ensuring good value for taxpayers, and not disrupting the wider financial services market too much.
But what about next year? Well, the government has set a new Net Financing Target for 2025-26, and it’s going up – to £12 billion, again with a leeway of plus or minus £4 billion.

That means NS&I may need to bring in more money, which raises a big question: could this mean we see interest rates on their savings accounts go up again?

Of course, nothing is certain. NS&I carefully adjusts its offerings depending on economic conditions, government borrowing needs, and, let’s be honest, how much money they’re already attracting. But if they do need to bring in more savers, improving rates is the way to do it.

NS&I is a National Treasure – so many savers stay put come what may. And if you have very large sums of money, the fact that all cash held with NS&I is protected by HM Treasury means that you don’t have to go through the hassle of opening multiple accounts in order to keep your cash protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which offers protection on funds up to £85,000 per banking licence.

But, as a result, NS&I generally doesn’t offer the best rates as the tables below show.

Rates correct as at 28/03/25

So, for those who want to earn more interest whilst keeping the hassle of opening multiple savings accounts to a minimum, perhaps a cash platform could be the answer!
Imagine a cash savings platform as a marketplace for savings, where a single application and login gives you access to a range of competitive savings accounts—from easy access to fixed-term bonds—across multiple providers with just a few clicks.

While not whole of market, these platforms often feature attractive and even market-leading and exclusive rates. The key advantage is the ease of spreading your savings across different accounts; maximising protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) while optimising your returns.

With our Savers Hub, powered by Insignis, you can now open, manage, and switch between multiple competitive savings accounts—all from one convenient login.

Request an illustration today, to see how much interest you could be enjoying. There’s no obligation, so the only thing you are missing out on is the possibility of more interest!

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This article is intended for general information only, it does not constitute individual advice and should not be used to inform financial decisions.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate cash flow planning or tax advice.