MoneyWise :: Falling rates aid debtors, but hamper savers

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Released: September 09, 2010

Falling rates aid debtors, but hamper savers

Source: Graham Bowley, NY Times (Free Registration)

Households and corporations alike are refinancing their loans in droves to take advantage of interest rates that seem impossibly cheap. But those same low rates come with a flip side, driving down the income of retirees and others who live off their savings.

It is a side effect of a government policy meant to push down interest rates to a point that businesses and consumers are compelled to borrow and spend again, and yet it is hurting anyone with a savings account.

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