Consumers saving at record rates

People are saving at record rates, with 48% saving regularly and one in five putting away as much as €200 per month.

The Nationwide UK (Ireland)/ESRI Savings Index increased by 23 points in January to bring the index to 114, the highest level since October last year and six points higher than January 2011.

The survey found 23% of consumers who are able to save occasionally or regularly save between €26 and €50 a month; a further 23% are saving between €51 and €100 per month, and 22% are saving between €101 and €200 per month.

The percentage of people not saving at all fell two percentage points to 31% in January, but this is still six points higher than the level recorded in January 2011. This is a cause for concern if it reflects an inability to save amongst a large proportion of people.

“Savers have a more optimistic outlook towards the saving environment with 34% believing that now is a good time to save compared with just 27% in December and 28% in January 2011. The percentage of people who believe that now is not a good time to save fell 7 points to 41% in January 2012,” index compilers said.

The percentage of people who think that Government policy discourages saving remains high at 55%, the same as in January 2011.

Managing director of Nationwide UK (Ireland) Brendan Synnott, said: “Overall the data is showing that the savings culture in Ireland remains strong and is growing as demonstrated by the 23 point increase in the overall index since last month and 6 point increase versus January 2011.