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Savings slump brings crisis closer to home
Phillip Hudson
May 18, 2009
ALMOST 30 per cent of NSW residents have no savings, according to a new study that shows many have been caught unprepared for the recession and rising unemployment.
A survey by Bankwest to be released today also suggests men are better savers than women and generation Y members are more likely to be setting aside a larger share of their pay than other age groups, including baby boomers.
"The report is a sobering snapshot of how the unprecedented downturn of the past six months has hit home," said the chief executive of Bankwest retail, Ian Corfield. "Millions of NSW residents are failing to put sufficient money aside to cover life's setbacks."
He said nearly 60 per cent of those from NSW who took part in the six-month online study of 1144 people had not adjusted their finances in response to the recession, 29 per cent admitted they had no savings and 40 per cent saved none of their pay.
One in four said they saved less than 5 per cent of their pay, another quarter saved between 5 and 15 per cent, and just over one in 10 banked more than 15 per cent.
"In years gone by the prudent thing was to save for a rainy day, yet today it's pouring cats and dogs yet few people are putting enough, if any, money aside to see them through unexpected financial emergencies," Mr Corfield said.
Bankwest and other banks, including its owner, the Commonwealth Bank, would benefit if more people put more savings into a bank. But the report provides a useful report card on household finances after last week's federal budget said the economy would get worse.
The Government forecast that unemployment rate would rise from 5.4 per cent to 8.5 per cent by June 2010, but the report found 56 per cent of people would struggle financially if they were made redundant.
"Not only would most people be in dire trouble if they lost their jobs, but our report found that half of Australians would struggle with simple things like a rise in household bills or major repairs to their car," Mr Corfield said.
Twenty per cent said they could not afford an expensive operation, 26 per cent could not pay for major house repairs not covered by insurance, 12 per cent could not meet a sudden increase in household bills or be able to replace a household appliance, and 13 per cent could not pay for major car repairs.
In most cases a further one-third said they could just manage to meet those costs, but it would be a struggle.
Mr Corfield said women were more likely than men to struggle with a financial emergency as only 36 per cent had three months' salary saved up, compared with 50 per cent of men. Forty-two per cent of women made no regular monthly savings compared with 33 per cent of men.
He said 25 per cent of generation Ys, typically those born in the 1980s and 1990s, were saving more than 15 per cent of their pay compared with 13 per cent of baby boomers, 14 per cent of Generation Xers and 16 per cent of retirees.
"In sharp contrast to their carefree and free-spending image, the report found that many gen Ys appeared to be carefully insulating themselves against the downturn," he said.
The study was taken between September, when the global financial crisis began, and March. |
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楼主: 一村
发表于 26-4-2009 20:05:36
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