Four Years After Pandemic Shock, UK Household Saving Stays High

  • A jump in British household savings since the COVID-19 pandemic appears here to stay and cannot be fully explained by higher interest rates or unemployment fears, according to the country's statistics agency.
  • The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Britain's households saved 11.1% of their income in the first three months of this year, up from 5.8% in the final quarter of 2019. This was the highest rate since 2010, excluding the start of the pandemic when it spiked to 27.4%.
  • Britain's persistent increase in the household savings rate contrasts with the United States and, to a lesser extent, the euro zone. The U.S. personal savings rate is just under 4%, around 3 percentage points lower than in 2019. The euro zone's savings rate of 14.7% is above Britain’s but has increased by less since 2019.
  • The savings rate represents the percentage of household income after taxes and benefits that is not spent. Employers' pension contributions and changes in the value of retirement savings also count as income.
  • Excess savings built up by British households since the pandemic are now in the range of 143Bn to 338Bn pounds ($185Bn to $437Bn), the ONS said. "UK households have been reluctant to spend these accumulated savings, unlike in the U.S. where it has been an important factor in supporting household consumption and economic growth," it further added.
  • Retail volumes are still just below pre-pandemic levels, and a decision to spend past savings or a lower savings rate in the future would boost consumer demand and could fuel inflation. Of the increased saving rate since 2019, ONS analysis suggested more than 40% reflected higher interest rates and changed earnings expectations.
  • Bank of England interest rates rose from 0.1% to 5.25% between December 2021 and August 2023, making it costlier to borrow and more rewarding to save. Financial markets expect the central bank to cut rates only slowly over the next 12 months.
  • However, Under 10% of the increase in the savings rate was extra precautionary saving driven by fears of unemployment. But that left almost half the increase due to 'other factors' which the ONS said could include geopolitical worries or economic concerns not directly related to unemployment or interest rates.

 (Source: Reuters)