-
First ever comprehensive map of UK household savings by local area
-
Manchester, Hackney and Islington areas with least savings
-
Chiltern, Mole Valley and South Bucks have highest reserves
The nation’s city-dwellers are struggling to save for the future, according to a country-wide study.
The findings come from the ING Direct’s Consumer Savings Monitor, which has tracked savings every month since 2009. It concentrates on the ‘man in the middle’ (median average) to account for the fact that savings are so unevenly spread - with five per cent of the population having a third of all savings.
Nationally, the ordinary household has £3,225 in savings, which has fallen significantly since the beginning of 2009. Yet having questioned 45,000 savers across this period (1) the bank has also been able to reveal the average savings in households of every one of England & Wales’ 376 local area districts (LADs). And the local areas with the highest savings levels are primarily in the rural south east, with Chiltern (£15,712), Mole Valley (£15,435) and South Bucks (£15,132) leading the way – figures that are nearly five times the national average.
Yet many of the country’s most prosperous cities sit at the foot of the rankings, with Manchester (£569), Nottingham (£776) and Newcastle (£931) included among the most poorly performing areas.
Furthermore, despite being the earnings capital of the UK, five of London’s boroughs sit in the bottom areas – showing the degree to which many Londoners are struggling to do more than make ends meet. These areas are Hackney (£749), Islington (£751), Lambeth (£753), Tower Hamlets (£776) and Southwark (£808).
And even the wealthiest areas of London struggle to break into the top of the savings league table, with Kensington & Chelsea (£5,348) and City of London (£5,322) sitting 35th and 36th respectively. Yet not all urban areas follow this trend. The city with the highest levels of saving is St. Albans (£12,345) and the ‘best off’ town is Epsom & Ewell (£14,047).
Surprisingly, the correlation between earnings and savings wealth is weaker than one might think, with the ‘best off’ areas tending to be characterised by an older population (who have therefore been saving for longer), who tend to live in couples or alone – with children having flown the nest.
Richard Doe, CEO of ING Direct, says:
“The ING Direct Consumer Savings Monitor was designed to show the true state of UK savings. This project takes things a big step further, painting the most detailed picture currently available of accessible savings levels by area.”
“The study shows some stark differences across the nation, most notably between town and country, with those in heavily urban areas having a very small savings cushion.”
Find out how much your local area is saving by trying the ING Direct Consumer Savings Monitor widget! Simply use the map to find your area and click on the icon to view the data.
Find out more about ING Direct Savings
For further information please contact:
Martin Rutland, ING Direct
Tel: 01189 381969/07748 188684
Email: martin.rutland@ingdirect.co.uk
About ING Direct:
-
ING Direct is the world’s leading direct savings bank, with over 23 million savers worldwide. It was launched in the UK in May 2003 where it has 1.4m customers.
-
The savings bank has won a number of accolades for its customer service, website and UK-based call centres, as well as being highly commended for most trusted savings provider at the Moneywise ‘Most Trusted’ 2009 Awards.
-
ING Direct is authorised and regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch Central Bank) and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Services Authority. Details on the extent of ING Direct’s regulation by the Financial Services Authority are available on request.
-
Deposits are covered by the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme to the level of €100,000 per customer.
ING Direct. 410 Thames Valley Park Drive, Reading, Berkshire RG6 1RH.
All figures quoted, unless otherwise stated are from the findings of the ING Direct Consumer Savings Monitor.
Methodology summary – Since the Consumer Savings Monitor research began, ING Direct has spoken to over 45,000 savers. This data has been used to create a model to show how the factors of income, age, couple status, single parent status, and accommodation type relate to median savings levels in households in England & Wales.
This data is also available for every Local Area District (LAD) via Census data, Government Actuaries’ Dept. projections for population by age, DCLG data on tenure, and National Statistics (2006-based) average household income estimates.
Using this data ING Direct was able to estimate median savings based on each LAD population profile.
Full methodology can be found in the Consumer Savings Monitor available on our website under Media or upon request.
Notes
1. The ING Direct Consumer Savings monitor questions 1,300 people every month (39,000 since it began) and an additional 2,000 people every quarter (20,000 since tracking started), which equates to 59,000. Of these people, 77 per cent are savers = approx. 45,000 (45,430)