Yahoo Finance One in five British adults have no monthly savings
One in five British adults have no monthly savings, according to a new study.
In a survey of 2,000 people, 20% of Brits told The House Crowd they save no money on a monthly basis. Almost half of respondents (48%) put away less than £50.
Just one in 10 Brits manage to save £500 a month, according to the lender, with most (62%) putting away less than £100.
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The research also found that people have a lack of confidence when it comes to their retirement savings.
Over a third (35%) of respondents said they think £250,000 will be enough for their retirement — despite the Centre for Economics and Business Research putting the figure at a minimum of £666,000.
Just a third of those surveyed said they believe they are putting away enough for the future — although women (42%) are far more concerned about this than men (24%).
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For those moving closer to retirement age, preparation appears somewhat lacking. Just one in five (22%) adults aged between 45 and 54 believe they are saving enough. This is compared with 35% of those over 55 — the age most pensions become available.
“The state of retirement planning in the UK is, quite frankly, shocking. People are not saving nearly enough — and in many cases, they’re leaving it much too late,” Frazer Fearnhead, CEO of The House Crowd, said.
“With current levels of economic uncertainty, and the potential of inflation to erode interest on certain types of savings account, it’s more important than ever for savers to explore a diverse range of secure and reliable investment options to support their pension saving efforts.”
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The survey also asked savers how much they know about their workplace pension schemes.
Roughly a third of respondents (34%) said they don’t know how much their employer currently contributes towards their pension or retirement savings plan.
Despite recent changes to auto-enrolment pension contributions, nearly half (48%) of respondents said they have not checked their account since the scheme launched in October 2012 — and a third (31%) admitted they don’t even know what auto-enrolment is.
