One in three has ‘less than one months' income saved’
A study conducted from figures raised in the Lloyds Bank Savings Index has found that one in three workers in the UK has less than one months’ wages put aside for emergency costs.
The survey found that, despite the fact that the economy is improving, savings levels in the UK remain low. In fact, exactly half of those surveyed (50%) said that they had less than two months’ wages saved for a rainy day, while 34% said that they had failed to put aside just one months’ wages.
This is despite the fact that there seems to be a general appreciation of the importance of having an emergency fund to fall back on among workers. Just under half of those surveyed (48%) said that they thought they would need at least two months’ wages put aside in the event of an emergency. At the same time, one in five (21%) people think that they would need a minimum of four months’ wages in order to cope financially in the event of an emergency.
The main reason for people failing to adopt a regular savings habit was the fact that they didn’t have any spare money remaining at the end of a working month, according to the research.
Paying off personal debt was another reason people gave for not saving, with 82% saying this was of higher importance to them than saving money. However, the report also highlighted the fact that the vast majority of workers do realise the importance of regular saving. 84% of those surveyed said that they agree that it is important to save regularly, even if they are unable to do so.
Director of savings at Lloyds Bank, Philip Robinson, said: “With the lack of spare money at the end of the month a clear worry for consumers, it is reassuring to see such high levels of savers keen to put money aside for a rainy day”.
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