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17 July 2006
Household savings in Britain are at their highest level for four years, new research shows.
Halifax's UK savings ratio, which measures the proportion of disposable income that households save instead of spending, reached 12.9 billion between April and June 2006, its highest level since the last quarter of 1997.
The savings ratio for the second quarter of 2006, at 6.0 per cent, is still far below the 7.8 per cent average for the past 43 years, however.
"The good news is that household savings are on a steady trend upwards," said head of savings at Halifax, Peter Jackson.
"The increase in the savings ratio in part reflects the growth in regular savings products which have become so popular with savers over the past 18 months.
"These products reward savers with very high rates of interest in return for saving on a regular monthly basis."
Increases in savings have been a "small step in the right direction" towards providing higher levels of savings needed to fund retirement for an ageing population, he added.
However, a separate study from Standard Life revealed that Britons were increasingly investing cash in buy-to-let properties rather than in savings products.
If you aren't saving as much as you would like and are concerned about falling into debt, order your credit report now for a full list of your financial commitments, past and present.
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