Released on: December 04, 2009, 11:48 am
Author: National Savings and Investments
Industry: Financial

NS&I has revealed that despite the financial shock of the last 18 months, data for the last five years shows that Britons have not made savings any more of a priority. This is according to NS&I’s Savings Survey which, with more than 50,000 people interviewed since the Survey began five years ago, provides a comprehensive picture of the nation’s changing savings habits over this period.

The data shows that in 2009, while the average monthly amount Britons save per head has increased to its highest recorded figure (£83.87, up from £70.23 in 2005), the individual savings ratio - the average amount that people say they are saving as a percentage of their take-home income - has remained fairly constant at 6.06% this year from 6.02% in 2005. It seems that the population is not diverting a larger proportion of their take-home income to savings, despite the recent economic downturn which has created a greater need amongst many to build up emergency savings in a savings account or savings bond.

Tim Mack, NS&I’s savings spokesperson, comments: “Many people are now putting a few more pounds away each month for greater peace of mind. But when expressed as a percentage of monthly income saved, it is evident that Britons don’t seem to have made saving any more of a priority in 2009 than they have over the past five years, despite the economic downturn.

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