Savings accounts underused by UK public

A report today by HSBC confirmed that 30% of adults in the UK have savings of less than £249 and indeed 19% have no savings whatsoever. While in some ways this is not necessarily a major surprise, bearing in mind the economic backdrop, the fact is that around 15 million people in the UK would struggle to get through the weekend if they lost their job tomorrow!

HSBC believes that the UK population should, where possible, be putting aside just a few pounds a month to help build up some form of nest egg for the future and create a buffer between difficult economic situations, such as that today, and everyday budgetary requirements. However, at this moment in time more and more people are struggling to make ends meet let alone putting money aside for savings and this report and its conclusion is likely to fall on deaf ears.

When you also take into account the fact that savings rates in the UK are minimal to say the least, and have been for some time, where is the real incentive for adults to put money away for a rainy day? Maybe when savings rates return to "traditional levels" we might see more interest in putting money aside for the future but until then it seems highly unlikely.