The typical Brit has more than £12,000 in savings – but women have £3,000 less than men

The typical Brit has more than £12,000 in savings – but women have £3,000 less than men, a study has found

A study of 2,000 adults found 79 per cent dream of having a buffer to protect them financially, with 60 per cent of savers wanting to put away as much as they can at the moment ‘just in case’.

As a result, the average adult squirrels away £306 a month – 15 per cent of their salary, with 10 per cent managing to save more than £1,000.

However, one in six (16 per cent of those) with savings are currently struggling to add to their pot on a regular basis, with seven per cent of all respondents unable to put money away at all.

Those aged 25-34 put away the most, an average of nearly £490 a month, while older adults aged 65 and over put the least into savings each month – just £228.

And adults aged over 65 are likely to have most in savings to begin with – an average of £17,189 per person.

But 31 per cent of all savers never move their money to accounts with higher interest rates – despite the rising figures meaning they are missing out on extra cash.

Brits need financial education

The research was commissioned by HSBC UK, which is offering free financial health checks and webinars to provide personalised guidance for customers and non-customers alike - including the opportunity to book a call with a financial wellbeing consultant for additional support.

Pella Frost, head of everyday banking at HSBC UK said: “Despite the challenging economic environment, these results suggest Britain’s savers have developed some healthy savings habits. 

“If you’re lucky enough to have built up some savings, it pays to be savvy and the pounds in people’s accounts could be working harder by being clever with your banking or locking your money away for longer. 

“As interest rates are rising, make sure you know the terms of your savings accounts and keep an eye on the market to ensure you are getting the best interest rate you can.

“The results do show a number of people currently have no savings at all or are struggling to put aside anything from month to month.  We don’t underestimate the financial challenges many are currently facing and we’re here to help.

“It’s important that customers understand they can talk to us about their money worries without judgement and without it affecting their credit rating.”

Most consider themselves to be savvy 

The research found 80 per cent of adults describe themselves as very or fairly savvy when it comes to their finances.

Half of savers put any spare cash they have at the end of the month into savings rather than spending it, while 39 per cent have cut back on luxuries so they can put the cash away instead.

And 35 per cent set a budget to ensure they can save even a small amount each month.

And the most common reason for saving was to build up a rainy-day fund, ahead of holidays and retirement.

But the average adult reckons they could save an extra £264 a month if they had a better budgeting system in place.

Some 47 per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, feel there needs to be more education on savings, investments and interest rates to help people make the most of their hard-earned cash.

Just 44 per cent feel they have a good grasp of how interest rates work and only 34 per cent are confident they know how to get the best return on their money.

Pella Frost from HSBC UK added: “It seems many people are missing out on some cash by not being on top of what their savings are doing. 

“Keeping savings in your current account is helpful in terms of access, but that can be a double-edged sword – making you more likely to spend when you don’t need to.

“The proliferation of digital technology means you don’t need to keep cash in a jar at home anymore – you can move it around easily within your banking app and online with ease, getting spending insights to help you budget and picking up interest to give your savings that extra boost.”