By Andrew Gall, Head of Savings and Economics at the BSA

UK Savings Week started in 2022, in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, and next month will be the third UK Savings Week (9-15 September). There are around a quarter of UK adults, that’s 14 million people, with less than £100 in emergency savings, and over £250 billion sitting in accounts earning no interest. UK Savings Week aims to change this narrative and help people foster better savings habits with two clear objectives:

• To help 2 million more people become regular savers by 2030
• To reduce 0% interest balances by £50 billion

A recent report from UK Savings Week, by the University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre, shows that having a regular savings habit can help protect individuals and families from financial shocks, increase their chances of achieving long-term life goals and generally improve their mental wellbeing – and indirectly business productivity. 

In short, having a savings habit helps people move from a vicious cycle of financial problems and poor mental health to a happier life with improved resilience and better achievement of ambitions.

Even small monthly savings have a big impact, with those on low incomes reaping the biggest wellbeing benefits of regularly putting a little aside when they can. Low-income regular savers enjoy similar levels of life satisfaction to non-savers on much higher incomes. This shows that the habit and action of saving is a key part of improving wellbeing, such as feeling more optimistic about the future, ability to relax and sleeping better at night, and being more satisfied with life overall. 

Having a pot of savings also helps to achieve more of our dreams.  Many people save for a luxury item, a holiday or a big event. However, the research shows that having a regular savings habit can help us to achieve much bigger life goals. 

The researchers tracked the savings habits and behaviours of a group of young adults and their lives over 10 years. By analysing the results from this large scale, annual study they found that 82% of those who saved regularly became homeowners. That halved to just 40% for those who saved on an ad-hoc basis, and just 15% of non-savers bought their own home in that time. 

Clearly there are various factors, such as income levels, that affect whether someone will be able to buy a home. Further statistical analysis to adjust for this found that those who saved regularly were 10 times more likely than non-savers to become homeowners, after income and other factors were taken into account.

Whilst we know 63% (source BSA Property Tracker) of would-be first-time buyers think the deposit required to buy a home is too high, with many giving up on the idea of ever becoming a homeowner, the research demonstrates the power of building a regular savings habit as early as possible and the ability to achieve long-term life goals.

Another positive benefit of saving regularly is being less likely to fall into financial difficulty. Over the 10 years, 12% of non-savers had fallen behind with their bills, compared to just 2% of those who managed to save at least every other year.  Non-savers also have higher debt-to-income ratios. 

How can we foster better savings habits?

There is evidence that savings schemes and incentives encourage better savings habits.  

Individuals saving in schemes such as workplace savings, achieved higher levels of savings success, showing that simplicity can encourage better habits. And there is appetite for these schemes, with over 50% of individuals saying they’d be interested in a workplace savings scheme if their employer offered one. 

Nudges and encouragement texts were also found to be effective at increasing the engagement individuals have with their savings. These could be reminders to add to a regular saver account or a nudge to take out a savings review.

Financial organisations must therefore play their part by continuing to provide the products and incentives that encourage better savings habits. Being an active supporter of UK Savings Week, using the many resources that are available, is another way of supporting the drive towards building a nation of savers. 

There is a role for the new Government too. With such an appetite for workplace savings schemes action to enable auto-enrolment for organisations with 250+ employees could be a good starting point. 
Government could also be more proactive by raising the Personal Savings Allowance for basic rate taxpayers and reviewing the penalties and barriers for Lifetime ISAs to ensure they remain fit for purpose. 

These simple changes would increase families and individuals ability to cope with financial shocks and help them to achieve their financial goals. All of which will ultimately contribute positively to a growing UK economy. 

Whilst we must of course remain mindful that there will always be some people who simply won’t be in a position to save right now, the financial services industry and Government has a duty to ensure everyone has the access and encouragement to save a little, if they can, when they can.

Find out more about UK Savings Week, its partners and supporters here.