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Table of Contents
- Overview of savings in the UK
- Savings accounts held by age
- What is the average savings balance in the UK?
- Average cash savings by age
- What factors affect average savings?
- Percentage of the UK population with no savings
- Average savings in cash Isas by age
- How much should I save each month?
- What interest rate will I earn on my cash savings?
- Safety of cash savings
How much do individuals in the UK hold in savings, on average, at different times of their lives?
We looked at a range of data sources to find out what the average savings balance is for people of different ages so you can see how your own savings balance compares.
Overview of savings in the UK
- total cash savings stand at more than £1.5 trillion
- total savings held in cash ISAs is more than £350 billion
- 70% of adults have some form of savings account
- 54% of adults have a bank or building society savings account
- 28% of adults have a cash ISA
Source: Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority
Total cash savings held by UK households has topped £1.5 trillion, according to the latest Bank of England data. This includes interest-bearing easy access and notice accounts, fixed rate accounts and savings bonds, Premium Bonds, and the cash variety of Individual Savings Accounts.
Although volumes have dipped slightly since their peak during the Covid-19 pandemic, when savings levels spiked, total savings are up from around £1 trillion a decade ago (June 2014), according to the Bank’s figures.
The total amount of money held in cash ISAs is more than £350 billion, and the amount of new deposits made into adult cash ISAs in the 2021-2022 tax year (the latest government data) was £30.9 billion.
People in the UK are keen on the security of cash savings, with 70% (37.1 million people) holding some form of savings account, according to the Financial Lives 2022 report, published by the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The most popular type of product, according to the FCA study, is bank and building society savings accounts, followed by cash ISAs and Premium Bonds.
The graphic below shows how the number of products held by a proportion of the population has fallen since the pandemic in 2020. This could be due to more households using savings to help pay energy and food bills, for example, during the cost-of-living crisis.
Savings accounts held by age
The percentage of UK adults who hold any form of savings account, from a bank or building society account to cash ISAs or credit union savings, varies by age.
Those in older age groups are far more likely to have a savings account, compared to those under 25, for example, as data from the FCA’s Financial Lives study shows.
What is the average savings balance in the UK?
Government figures in the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) most recent Assets and Wealth Survey (published in 2022) show median household wealth, in the 5th wealth decile, to be £6,800. But this is a measure of net financial wealth, which includes money in current accounts and deposit savings as well as investments, bonds and other financial assets, not just cash savings.
Financial wealth in the UK by wealth decile
In terms of cash savings, adults in the UK have £11,185 in savings, on average, according to a survey conducted in January 2024 by Finder.
Although this data would suggest most UK adults have a relatively healthy savings balance, these are average figures. Mean averages (as used by the Finder study) can be affected by a small number of people who have high levels of savings, such as in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of pounds, for example.
Data from National Savings and Investments, the government-backed savings provider, shows the average savings in premium bonds stands at £5,480 and the average balance in its Direct ISA product, an easy-access cash ISA, is £13,006. This is based on NS&I’s latest date published in March 2023
Average cash savings by age
Data shows the average amount of cash savings held varies widely depending on age, with younger age groups having far lower levels of savings than older counterparts.
For example, the average amount held in savings by those aged 18 to 24 is £3,636, according to the Finder survey. This compares to an average of £36,940 – 10 times more – for those aged over 74.
Total average cash savings are below £10,000 in all age groups until age 55 and over.
Average savings by age in the UK
What factors affect average savings?
There are a number of factors that affect how much someone has in cash savings.
How much you earn, and the level of your disposable income after your housing costs, card and loan debts, bills and other outgoings are covered, is likely to be a major factor in how much you can save and how much you hold in total savings.
Those who are not working are likely to be among those who find it the hardest to save anything. Those in part time and lower paid employment, which often tends to be younger people, are also likely to be saving the least and have the lowest levels of savings.
Men and women tend to have a similar average savings amount, with £11,805 for men and £10,563 for women, according to Finder, suggesting that gender does not have a large bearing on the amount you can save.
Percentage of the UK population with no savings
A large proportion of the population has very little or no savings to fall back on in an emergency. This means many people are financially vulnerable, and would struggle if they lost their job or had an illness that meant they couldn’t work, for example.
FCA data shows 30% of people don’t have any form of savings account (although this doesn’t necessarily mean they have no savings or alternative financial cushion), and research published in February 2024 by the independent think tank the Resolution Foundation found one in three working families have less than £1,000 in savings.
Finder’s survey data shows almost half of UK adults (46%) have £1,000 or less in savings with 25% having less than £200 saved, meaning they would struggle to cover living expenses for more than a month.
Average savings in cash Isas by age
The average amount held in cash ISAs is £13,422, according to the latest data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), published in June 2023 and based on cash ISA values in the 2021-2022 tax year. But as this is a mean average value it is likely to be skewed because some people hold very large sums in ISAs, particularly those over 55. Cash ISA savings levels tend to be much lower among younger people.
The average amount of new money paid into cash ISAs per adult in the 2021-22 tax year (latest government data) was £4,330, this is up from an average of £3,327 a decade previously in the 2011-12 tax year.
The amount of savings people have in ISAs increases with age. The proportion of ISA holders with ISAs valued at £50,000 or more, for example, is highest amongst those aged 65 or more, whilst the proportion of ISA holders with ISAs valued at between £1 and £2,499 is highest amongst those under 25.
Although the figures in the chart below represent all types of ISAs (not just cash ISAs), it is expected that the pattern would be broadly similar for cash ISAs.
Number of ISA holders with accounts of differing values at different ages
How much should I save each month?
There are no rules around how much you should be saving or how much money you should hold in cash savings, but having savings can provide financial resilience and be a safety net to fall back on. How much you have in savings is likely to come down to the disposable income you have available to save each month.
Some financial advisors suggest people aim to have at least three month’s net salary-worth of money up to around six-month’s worth where possible, kept in easy access cash savings in case of emergency, such as job loss.
What interest rate will I earn on my cash savings?
Savings rates have risen over the past two years as the Bank of England has increased the Bank Rate (Bank Rate rose from just 0.1% in December 2021 to 5.25% in August 2023. At the time of writing (June 2024) the Bank Rate is 5.25%.
It means the best easy access accounts, fixed rate savings bonds and cash ISAs are paying some of the highest interest rates in many years.
The actual interest rate you can earn on your savings will depend on the type of savings account you opt for. Typically if you can lock your money away for a fixed term, such as 12 months or 24 months, for example, you may be able to get a higher interest rate compared to an easy access account.
The amount you hold in savings can also have a bearing on the interest rate you can achieve with some providers, such as fixed rate bond providers, paying higher rates on larger savings balances.
Safety of cash savings
Cash deposits held in UK regulated banks, building societies and credit unions, are protected up to £85,000 per person per financial institution. This means your money is protected in the event the institution goes bust. This cover is provided under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Be aware that some savings brands are owned by the same financial institution, for example Halifax and Bank of Scotland. In this case your funds are only protected up to £85,000 in total across all accounts you hold with the financial group, not per account.
