1 in 5 People ‘Have Less Than £100 in Savings’

Close to one in five adults in the UK have less than £100 set aside as savings and many people have become less able to save money over the course of the past two years.

That’s according to a new set of figures published by the Yorkshire Building Society, which has described its own data as highlighting the fragility of financial circumstances among millions of British consumers.

For some sections of the population, the pandemic has had the effect of helping them to save more money on a routine basis but for many others the opposite is true.

The latest figures suggest that around 21 per cent of the UK’s adult population currently cannot save any money each month, which is almost double the comparable figure (12 per cent) recorded two years ago in 2019.

Dynamics at play currently across the country are described by Yorkshire Building Society as equating to a “widening of the UK’s financial wellbeing gap,” with some people setting more money aside than ever and others struggling desperately to make ends meet.

Certainly, the fifth of people who have less than £100 in savings are in a financially vulnerable position and one that could quickly become stressful to manage on a day-to-day basis.

The Yorkshire Building Society has recommended that consumers in general attempt to save money on a regular basis, if they possibly can, to achieve a greater degree of financial resilience.

“One of the things the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated is that anyone could find themselves in financial difficulties and may need to rely on savings,” commented Tina Hughes, director of savings at the Yorkshire Building Society.

“Now more than ever, with current and potential future economic uncertainty, it’s important for people to try and build their financial resilience,” she said.

The pandemic has made many households across Scotland and the UK more reliant on debt than they were previously but around one in seven (17 per cent) people are understood to have reduced their overall debt level since March 2020.

If you live anywhere in Scotland and you are struggling to cope with your personal debt situation then Scotland Debt Solutions can help. Contact us directly to arrange a FREE and confidential consultation.