Over two fifths of people are not saving anything at the end of each month, according to the latest Nationwide/ESRI savings index.
The survey found that 42% of people were not putting any money aside. That was up from 36% in 2011, with the proportion of people saving regularly now standing at 34% - down from 40% two years ago.
Despite the findings, 78% said they expected to maintain their current level of saving in six months time, up 69% from the same period last year. Just 12% expected to be saving more in 12 months with only 10% expecting to be saving less.
“Although this month’s results indicate that people are becoming more comfortable with the amount they are saving and are more optimistic about their ability to save in the future, there has also been renewed uncertainty about the economic environment” said Brendan Synnott, Managing Director of Nationwide UK (Ireland).
“The overall conclusion is that people are continuing to save, mainly as a precaution for unexpected future events, and there is still no indication of a consumer demand led recovery with only 8% of those surveyed expressing a preference to spend any spare funds available,” he said.
