38% of people unable to save anything

Those who can save money are doing so, but the number of those who can’t afford to put anything by has risen, according to the latest Nationwide UK (Ireland) ESRI Savings Index.

The monthly savings survey found that there was an increase in both the number of people saving regularly and also in the percentage of people who weren’t saving at all.

The savings market has polarised according to the managing director of Nationwide (UK) Ireland, Brendan Synnott.

Regular savers made up 41% of all those surveyed, up from 36% last year, while 38% of people are now not saving at all, up from 31% last year.

“While the index increased in April, it is lower than this time last year and saving behaviour is polarising. Some people appear to have adjusted their spending and saving behaviour according to their specific circumstances and an increasing proportion of people are happy with the amount they are saving.

“Although it remains a concern that a large proportion are not saving at all or are incapable of saving at present,” said Mr Synnott.

The proportion of people saving more than they think they should, increased from 1% in March to 3% in April, while 42% are comfortable with the amount they are saving, up 4% on this time last year.

More than half of those surveyed felt they were saving less than they should.

Savers didn’t believe that the economy was going to improve anytime soon.

This was borne out in their reasons for saving. The majority of savers indicated that they aresaving as a precautionary measure, while 39% ofrespondents indicated that they are saving for unexpected expenses. A further 11% were saving in case their income falls,

A further 15% claimed they are saving for education or training, 12% said they were saving for a holiday, 5% are saving for a large consumer purchase, and only 4% are saving to buy or renovate a home.