Interest rates
Bank of England rate decision: what it means for your savings
The Bank of England announces its Bank Rate decision at 12:00 on 5 November. How a change reaches easy access, fixed and notice accounts, with the sums shown.
Bank Rate is 3.75% today, and on Thursday the Bank of England says whether that changes. I watch savings rates every day, so here is what a move would mean for the money you already have, with the sums shown.
What happens on Thursday
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) publishes its decision at 12:00 UK time on Thursday 5 November 2026, alongside its November Monetary Policy Report. Bank Rate is 3.75% going into the meeting.
At the last meeting, announced on 17 September 2026, the nine members voted 6–3 to hold Bank Rate at 3.75%. The three in the minority voted to raise it to 4%. The Committee said it judged the risks to inflation to be tilted upwards.
Since then, CPI inflation rose to 3.5% in September 2026, from 3.1% in August, against the Bank's 2% target. We don't forecast the decision; we set out what each outcome would mean.
How Bank Rate reaches your savings
- Easy access and other variable accounts: the bank can raise or cut the rate at any time. Some pass a Bank Rate change on in full, some in part and some not at all. Changes often take effect weeks after a decision, once the bank has given notice.
- Tracker accounts: a small number of accounts are contractually linked to Bank Rate and move with it, usually from a stated date.
- Fixed-rate bonds and fixed-rate ISAs: your rate is locked for the term, so Thursday's decision doesn't change it. New fixed deals are priced from market interest rates, which reflect what traders expect Bank Rate to do. That's why fixed rates often move before a decision rather than after it.
- Notice accounts: usually variable, so they work like easy access, but you have to give notice to withdraw.
Bank Rate is what the Bank of England pays on money banks hold with it. Savings rates aren't set by law to follow it: each bank decides its own rates, and how quickly it moves them.
What a quarter-point move is worth
| Balance | 0.25 point move | 0.50 point move |
|---|---|---|
| £5,000 | £12.50 | £25 |
| £10,000 | £25 | £50 |
| £20,000 | £50 | £100 |
| £50,000 | £125 | £250 |
| £85,000 | £212.50 | £425 |
A change of 0.25 percentage points on a variable account changes a year's interest by your balance × 0.25%. On £20,000: £20,000 × 0.25% = £50 a year. A half-point move is twice that: £20,000 × 0.50% = £100.
Those figures are before tax. If your interest is already above your Personal Savings Allowance, a basic-rate taxpayer keeps £50 × 80% = £40 of a £50 rise this tax year, and £50 × 76% = £38 from 6 April 2027, when the basic rate on savings interest rises to 24%. Interest in a cash ISA is tax-free, so the full £50 stays with you.
Fixed or variable: the arithmetic either way
An illustration with round, made-up rates, not ones on offer today: £10,000 for one year, either fixed at 4.40% or in a variable account paying 4.25% that changes once, three months in. Simple interest, before tax.
Fixed: £10,000 × 4.40% = £440, whatever Bank Rate does.
Variable, rate rises to 4.50%: £10,000 × 4.25% × 3/12 = £106.25, plus £10,000 × 4.50% × 9/12 = £337.50, which is £443.75.
Variable, rate cut to 4.00%: £106.25, plus £10,000 × 4.00% × 9/12 = £300, which is £406.25.
So in this example the fix pays £3.75 less if rates rise and £33.75 more if they fall. The fix also ties your money up for the year; the variable account doesn't. Which matters more depends on your own circumstances.
Your rate against inflation
With prices rising 3.5% a year, what your savings can buy grows only if your rate beats 3.5%. The real return is (1 + rate) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1.
At 4.50%: 1.045 ÷ 1.035 − 1 = 0.97% a year. £20,000 grows to £20,900, worth £20,900 ÷ 1.035 = £20,193 in today's money, a real gain of £193.
At 1.00%: 1.01 ÷ 1.035 − 1 = −2.42% a year. £20,000 grows to £20,200, worth £20,200 ÷ 1.035 = £19,517 in today's money, a real loss of £483.
Those figures assume inflation stays at 3.5% for the year and ignore tax.
What to look at on your own accounts
- The rate you're paid now: it's on your statement or the bank's app, and older accounts often pay less than ones on sale today.
- Whether the rate is variable, tracker or fixed, and when any fix or bonus ends.
- Any notice from your bank in the weeks after Thursday about a rate change.
- How much you hold with each banking licence, against the £120,000 FSCS limit.
Juno Hunt's best-buy tables are checked against banks' own websites through the day, and My savings tells you when a rate on an account you hold is changed.
The next decision dates
After Thursday, the MPC announces decisions on 17 December 2026, then on 4 February, 18 March, 29 April and 17 June 2027. We'll cover what changed after each one.
About this article
Bank Rate, the September vote and the decision dates are from the Bank of England; inflation is from the Office for National Statistics, as at 4 November 2026. The fixed-or-variable example uses illustrative rates, not rates on offer.
This is general information, not advice: it doesn't take your circumstances into account. Rates and rules can change; the sources below are where to check.
Sources
Some banks pay us when you open an account through our link. That never changes the order of our tables or what this report says.