Savings Index Increases in March

Savings Index increases 12 points

The Nationwide UK (Ireland) / ESRI Savings Index, which measures overall sentiment towards saving, increased to 117 in March, from 105 in February.

This is primarily driven by a sizeable increase in the Savings Environment sub-index, which asks if people believe that the current period is a good time to save and whether government policy encourages people to save. This rose to 105 in March, from 89 in February.

A third (33 per cent) of respondents believe now is a good time to save, the highest level since May 2014. The number of respondents who believe now is a bad time to save increased from 33 per cent to 35 per cent this month. The proportion who believe government policy encourages saving increased substantially to 9.2 per cent in March, from 5.4 per cent in February.

The Savings Attitude sub-index, which asks respondents about their saving behaviour and how they feel about the amount they save, rose from 120 in February to 129 in March. Meanwhile, the three-month moving average rose marginally from 122 to 123 in March.

The proportion of those who save regularly rose to 40 per cent, from 35 per cent in February. This increase appears to be driven mainly by the decrease in the proportion of those who save occasionally, which dropped from 26.4 per cent to 22.6 per cent this month. The share of those dissatisfied with the amount they save increased to 57.5 per cent, from 55 per cent in February.

Consumers are also asked about their preference as to how they might allocate any money over and above their everyday needs. The share of respondents who would use the surplus to pay off debts, including their mortgage, remained steady at 40 per cent. A further 10 per cent said they would spend it, down from 13 per cent last month, while 9 per cent said they would invest it.