Ipsos Polls Archive - 25 Million Adults Have Little Or No Savings And Are More Likely To Play The Lottery Than Save

25 Million Adults Have Little Or No Savings And Are More Likely To Play The Lottery Than Save

The M&G Great British Saving Survey

23 February 2000

• Nearly 25 million adults (54%) have less than 163500 in savings
• More than one in three (37%) adults say that they 'live for the day'
• And two-thirds (68%) buy lottery tickets each week according to Camelot

Over half (54%) of the adult population has little or no savings according to new research revealed in The M&G Great British Savings Survey. With more than one in three (37%) of us saying we "live for the day and save the minimum possible in order to finance our standard of living."

The study, undertaken by MORI Financial Services on behalf of M&G, is one of the most comprehensive insights into the motivation and attitudes behind saving habits in Great Britain. It reveals a savings apathy that is endemic of the whole adult population and not confined to a particular age group, sex or even social grouping. In fact over half of those aged over 55 do not have a saving strategy in place.

The findings show that when it comes to saving the nation is divided by its attitude; with those that prefer to live for the day - The Saving Shirkers, those that save as much as they can - The Savvy Savers and those who just can't afford to save - The Saving Shortfallers.

One in four (23%), adults don't wait and save up to buy something expensive, but confess to not being able to wait and take out a loan instead. Figures from Camelot show that more people are likely to play the lottery (68% of the population) than start saving.

M&G's Jeffrey Mushens, commented: "It is startling that there are so many people who are not willing to think about their financial future and would rather put their faith in the lottery."

"At M&G we want to understand what makes people tick when it comes to saving. Everyone should think about saving in the same way as eating healthier or keeping in shape - financial fitness is good for you and will pay off in the long term." he continued.

Other key findings include:

• 23% of adults say that they would take out a loan rather than save for something
• 56% of those nearing retirement wish they had started saving earlier
• 38% of savers cite retirement planning as their single biggest motivator for saving
• 77% of savers are self motivated

Technical details

Research was conducted by MORI Financial Services among a representative sample across Great Britain over a six-month period. The MORI Financial Services Savings Report June-December 1999 was used as a background to the whole survey. For the M&G Omnibus survey 1,938 interviews were conducted. In addition qualitative research was completed using 8 group discussions and 8 in-depth interviews among couples. All samples are representative of all adults in Great Britain aged 16+.