Savers have missed out on £130billion of interest payments as a result of ultra-low rates – around £5,000 for every household in the UK – a report reveals today . The Bank of England slashed interest rates to a historic low of 0.5 per cent in March 2009 at the height of the Great Recession . Almost exactly six years on , figures lay bare the crippling impact low rates have had on prudent households , including many pensioners and hard-working families . The Bank of England ( pictured ) slashed interest rates to a historic low of 0.5 per cent in March 2009 at the height of the Great Recession , which has had a crippling impact on prudent households . Laith Khalaf , a senior analyst at savings and investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown , which produced the report , said : ‘ It ’ s been a gruelling six years for savers in the UK who have seen the income from their cash obliterated . The future doesn ’ t look too much rosier either . ‘ While interest rate rises may be on the cards next year , when they come they are likely to be small and slow. ’ Interest rates were 5 per cent in September 2008 – the month US investment banking giant Lehman Brothers collapsed . But they were cut aggressively as the global financial crisis deepened , before reaching an all-time low of 0.5 per cent on March 5 , 2009 . Had rates stayed at their September 2008 level , savers would have received £130billion more interest on their nest eggs , Hargreaves Lansdown found . And according to Bank of England figures , the amount of cash held in accounts that pay no interest at all has risen from £47billion to £150billion since the financial crisis struck . Laith Khalaf ( pictured ) , a senior analyst at savings and investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown , said the future 'doesn ’ t look too much rosier either ' However , Mr Khalaf said that without ultra-low interest rates ‘ we would almost certainly have been left in a much sorrier state by the financial crisis ’ . He added : ‘ There have also been beneficiaries of low interest rates , most notably borrowers , who have seen their mortgage payments fall substantially. ’ Bank of England governor Mark Carney has admitted low rates ‘ help debtors at the expense of savers ’ . The Bank is expected to leave rates at 0.5 per cent again tomorrow , when the monetary policy committee finishes its latest monthly meeting . Mr Carney has suggested that rates could even be cut again – possibly to 0.25 per cent or even closer to zero – if ultra-low inflation persists . But he and other senior Bank officials have also claimed the next move in interest rates will probably be up . It is thought rates could start to rise late this year or early next year , although Mr Carney has insisted increases should be ‘ limited and gradual ’ . Dr Ros Altmann , a government advisor and pensions expert , said the over-65s have been offered ‘ a bit of relief ’ through so-called pensioner bonds . These offer 2.8 per cent on one-year bonds and 4 per cent over three years . But she added : ‘ Anyone younger than 65 is really struggling to make their savings pay . ’
Bank of England slashed interest rates to historic 0.5 % low in March 2009 . Report shows crippling impact low rates have had on prudent households . Amount of cash in accounts paying no interest risen from £47bn to £150bn . Investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown said future 'does n't look too much rosier '