Saga says QE harmed over 50s
The older generation saw massive cuts in their real income due to the Bank of England’s quantitative easing (QE) programme, research released today claims. The report, commissioned by Saga and prepared by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), says that the boost QE gave to assets was not enough to outweigh the hit to annuities from drastically reduced gilt yields. It also points out that high inflation – which QE contributed to – disproportionately affected over 50s, cutting their real incomes sharply. Saga boss Ros Altmann told City A.M. she hoped the report would spark “an honest debate,” about the asset purchasing programme.