1.2 Savings behaviour in the UK
So how much savings do UK households have?
Data based on the Family Resources Survey 2012/13 (Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), 2014) provides evidence to explore this question. Remember, by referring to savings we mean the stock of such savings that UK households have.
| Savings | All households (%) |
|---|---|
| No savings | 35 |
| Less than £1500 | 13 |
| £1500 but less than £3000 | 7 |
| £3000 but less than £8000 | 13 |
| £8000 but less than £10,000 | 3 |
| £10,000 but less than £16,000 | 7 |
| £16,000 but less than £20,000 | 3 |
| £20,000 or more | 20 |
Footnotes
Note: Figures do not add up to 100, due to rounding.As you might expect, households have different levels of savings, with 35 per cent having no savings at all, while 20 per cent have savings of more than £20,000.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says significant caution needs to be exercised when drawing firm conclusions from data on savings such as that presented above.
Activity _unit1.2.1 Activity 1.2 Caution
Why do you think the ONS might suggest such caution?
Make some notes in the box below.
Discussion
The responses provided to surveys where people have to provide personal information – particularly information about their finances – need to be treated with care.
The reason for the caution is linked to how data on savings is collected. Much official government data is based on surveys where households are asked to complete a questionnaire. An estimated one in four households simply does not know the value of its investments, while others may deliberately understate the value of any assets they have. Disclosing financial data can be seen as sensitive, and so collecting such data accurately can be problematic.