asked the Minister for Finance if he will state, in terms of the pound in 1946, the present purchasing power of £1 which was invested in national savings in 1946 and left there with accumulated interest.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Value of Pound Invested in National Savings.
105.
A 1946 pound, if left uninvested, would now be worth 9/9d in terms of 1946 values. An investment of £1 in Third Series Savings Certificates, which was the series available in 1946, would, if left undisturbed, now be worth £1 16s (equivalent to 17/7d in 1946 terms), while a similar investment in the Savings Bank would have accumulated to £1 12s 9d (equivalent to 15/10d in 1946 terms). If, however, on the maturity of the Third Series Certificates in 1958 the proceeds had been reinvested in the Sixth Series the holding would now be worth £1 19s 6d (equivalent to 19/3d in 1946 terms). These figures do not take account of the fact that interest in Savings Certificates is free of income tax and that the first £50 of interest earned each year on deposits in the Savings Bank is free of income tax.