The number of people with a negative view of the current savings environment has grown, according to a report published this morning.
The Nationwide UK (Ireland) Savings Index decreased by 12 points to 77 in December and the number of people who believe that Government policy encouraged saving declined from 13 per cent to just 5 per cent in December, the lowest level recorded since the Index started.
At present some 51 per cent of people polled in the survey think Government policy discourages saving and the 12 point decline in the index is driven by a dramatic 29 point fall in the savings environment sub-index.
Despite this negativity surrounding the savings environment, the numbers putting money aside continues to rise and 37 per cent of people are saving regularly up from 34 per cent in November while the percentage of people not saving at all declined from 33 per cent to 27 per cent.
“The overall trend in the index for 2010 is downwards given the very high start point and this month’s data is showing a further decline in the Index as consumers react to the budget and specifically to the increase in Deposit Interest Retention Tax,” Brendan Synnott, managing director of Nationwide UK (Ireland) said.
“However, for the long-term, the economic requirement is to achieve a balance between saving and spending that meets both consumer preferences and government policy.”
