Regular savers start to feel pinch

THE savings bug that captured the nation in the midst of the downturn has begun to contract, according to a survey.

An index of saving trends showed a 7-point decline driven by a drop in the number of people saving regularly from 44% in March to 41% in April. There was also an increase in the percentage of people not saving at all from 23% to 26% in the same period.

The first monthly savings index launched yesterday by Nationwide UK (Ireland) and the ESRI also showed that more than half of people surveyed would use surplus money to pay off debts, including mortgages.