• On average, these people have withdrawn £1,420 of savings during lockdown
• 10% of Brits have no savings at all
• 2 in 5 don’t have enough savings to live for a month without income

13 May 2020, LONDON –

Over a third of Brits (36%) have had to use some of their savings since the coronavirus lockdown began on 23 March, according to personal finance comparison website, finder.com.

On average, these people have used £1,420 of savings over the first 7 weeks, which is equivalent to a fifth of the UK’s average savings pot (21%).

The average savings amount per person across the UK currently stands at £6,760 and almost 4 in 5 Brits (78%) have some money put away in the bank.

However, 1 in 10 Brits (9%) have no savings at all, while a third of Brits (32%) have less than £600 in savings. A further 3 million Brits (7%) are in the dark about how much they have saved or if they have any at all.

Personal finance experts commonly recommend that individuals should have 3 months worth of living expenses in savings in case they experience a sudden loss of income and for the average Brit, this would be £4,700 (£1,560 per month).

Based on this, only 20 million Brits (39%) have enough savings in the bank to support themselves for 3 months with no income and 2 in 5 (41%) don’t have enough savings for even a month, meaning they are living from paycheque to paycheque.

Women say they have less savings, £6,090 put away on average, compared to £7,450 for men. However, during lockdown, a higher percentage of men have had to dip into their savings (37% vs 34%) and they have used more than twice as much of their savings than the average woman (£1,940 vs £898).

Across the UK, Londoners have the highest average amount of savings, with an average of £7,950. However, the high cost of living they face has contributed to 45% needing to use their savings during the lockdown. These people have withdrawn an average of £2,520 each, also the UK’s highest amount.

Those in Northern Ireland have the lowest average savings of £4,110 each, however they have also used the smallest amount of their savings. The 4 in 10 (38%) residents who have had to take money from their pot have used an average of just £264.

Baby boomers have the most savings, with an average £9,760 in their accounts, while it is the silent generation who have used their savings less than any other generation. Only 16% have had to use this money and these people have used an average of £605.

Millennials have used their savings the most during lockdown, with almost half (45%) needing to withdraw £1,850 on average.

To see the research in full, visit: https://www.finder.com/uk/brits-using-savings-in-lockdown

Commenting on the findings, Jon Ostler, CEO at finder.com said:
“During this uncertain time, having a buffer of savings may be more important than ever. While losing your job isn’t nice to think about and may feel like a distant reality, we can never predict what is around the corner and having some savings in the bank is a good idea. If you have little or no savings, here are several steps that can be taken to boost your savings:

Use free budgeting apps. One of the best ways to save more is to spend less. Setting a budget may be relatively easy to do but sticking to it can be harder. Free personal finance apps such as Yolt and Money Dashboard have a range of features from budgeting tools, being able to monitor multiple accounts at once and real-time breakdowns of your spending, enabling you to track and maintain your budget.

Save away money that you aren’t spending. There are often simple ways to cut costs. Cancel subscriptions that you will not really be using and see if you’re overpaying on broadband, mobile or energy bills. Plough that money into your savings pot and place the money you are currently saving on not going out or travelling into your savings as well.

Making sure your savings are in the right place. If you have savings, ensure they are sitting in a current account with an interest rate, a savings account or premium bonds. Even though interest rates are at a record low, putting your money to work is better than leaving it where it cannot grow. Alternatively, consider putting some of your savings into a stocks and shares ISA. On average, they have returned 5.4% over the last 50 years, whereas savings accounts have returned only 1.9%. However, unlike savings accounts, your money is at risk with this option as the value of stocks can fall.”

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Methodology:
Finder commissioned Onepoll in May 2020 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.
Some of these figures were then combined with average cost of living data from the ONS.