Savings Index Decreases by 7 Points in June

The Nationwide UK (Ireland) / ESRI Savings Index, which measures overall sentiment towards saving, decreased to 116 in June, from 123 in May.

The main Savings Index and two sub-indices all decreased this month with the Savings Index decreasing in June to 116, from 123 the previous month. Meanwhile, the Savings Environment sub-index also decreased in June to 105, from 112 index points and the Savings Attitude sub-index fell to 127, from 134 in May.

There has been a steady decline in the number of men and women who do not think that they are saving enough.  At the beginning of the index in 2010, over 60 per cent believed that they were not saving as much as they should. By the middle of 2013, more women thought they were not saving enough. By the end of the first half of 2015, 46 per cent of women continued to have a negative perception of the amount that they save compared to 41 per cent of men.

The decline in June’s Index is primarily driven by a fall of 11 points in the component which asks respondents if they consider now a good time to save. Looking at age demographics, 30 per cent of under 50’s believe now is quite a bad time to save, up from 18 per cent in May.

The majority of respondents, 65 per cent, continue to save regularly or occasionally.  Yet, the number of people who don’t save at all has risen by 3 per cent to 35 per cent. This appears to be driven by the over 50’s age group where the number of those saving nothing at all increased to 43 per cent from 37 per cent in May. Only 57 per cent of those over 50 save regularly or occasionally compared to 70 per cent in the under 50’s group.

With regard to the amount that consumers are saving, the percentage of respondents over the age of 50 who believe they are saving less than they hoped, increased to 26 per cent, from 19 per cent in May. Overall, respondents in this age category feel increasingly negative about the amount of money they are saving (from 51 per cent in May to 54 per cent in June). On the other hand, those under 50 are slightly more positive about how much they are saving with those giving a positive response rising from 56 per cent to 61 per cent this month.

With regard to the amount that consumers are saving, the percentage of respondents over the age of 50 who believe they are saving less than they hoped, increased to 26 per cent, from 19 per cent in May. Overall, respondents in this age category feel increasingly negative about the amount of money they are saving (from 51 per cent in May to 54 per cent in June). On the other hand, those under 50 are slightly more positive about how much they are saving with those giving a positive response rising from 56 per cent to 61 per cent this month.