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A 3rd of people haven't put money away last
quarter
NEW quarterly research will track people's attitudes to saving and
investments temporary installation highlights savers and investors who bury
their heads in the sand. 37% of UK adults have not saved or invested a
penny in the last 3 months, according to a quarterly tracker launched by
RateSetter this month. RateSetter has commissioned an installation to urge
people to take their heads out of the sand and take an active approach to
putting their money to work. On average, people put away ₤211 each month in the
last quarter. They found that men saved significantly more than women over
the period, averaging ₤246 a month, compared to ₤175.
25 to 34 year olds put away the most over that period, averaging ₤245 a month,
followed by those of retirement age, aged 65+, who stashed away ₤228 a month.
Younger adults, aged 18 to 24, put away the least ₤141 per month, but 19% say
that they currently have no savings at all, and 43% stated that they have no
investments.
Average total savings and investments stand at ₤17,811 and ₤20,138 respectively,
but again, men outstrip women here both on savings and investments, with total
combined pots averaging ₤51,108 for men, and ₤24,934 for women. Across the
regions, Yorkshire and Humberside top the table with average savings and
investments of ₤45,457, followed by London at ₤44,845. Although there is
widespread feeling among a majority of adults that that they are not saving
enough, 50% agree, compared to 17% who disagree, just 21% expect to be able to
save more over the next 12 months. But with low returns on cash accounts, both
savers and non savers feel less incentivised to put money away; 44% say that low
returns meant that it was not worth saving in cash. Although a 11% minority
would prefer to borrow than to save to achieve life goals. This is particularly
true of 28% of Londoners and of those aged 25 to 44, 19% of those aged 25 to 34
and 18% of those between 35 to 44.
Ceri Williams, Head of Investor Operations at RateSetter, commented:-
"People who traditionally save their money in a cash account are in a difficult
position right now, with many feel that low rates mean that it's not worth
saving at all, and with inflation comfortably outstripping returns on savings
products, it's easy to understand why. However, a significant proportion of
people, 28%, have indicated that they were prepared to take on some risk in
order to earn a better rate of return on their money. That's reflected in our
experience too; as we've seen a steady rise in the number of people investing
via our platform, earning returns of around 4% in exchange for taking on some
risk."
RateSetter will continue to track attitudes to saving and investing, and will
publish results each quarter. These figures also show just how unstable
the climate is at the moment, due to Brexit and lack of money for many people
through out the UK, due to pressures from paying off Student Loans and other
related issues.
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