Third of people’s savings would run out within weeks
THREE in 10 people do not have enough savings to cover three months’ worth of essential spending in an emergency.
Consumer magazine Which? discovered that one in four (24 per cent) people have less than £1,000 in savings, while one in 10 have between £5,001 and £10,000.
Just over two-fifths (42 per cent) of the 4,800 savings account holders surveyed said they were not saving up for anything in particular.
One in seven (15 per cent) are saving for retirement – and customers of Yorkshire Building Society, National Savings, Marcus and Coventry Building Society are twice as likely to be doing so.
Marcus – from financial giant Goldman Sachs – and Coventry Building Society were named Which? “recommended providers” due to their high customer
and product scores. Product scores take into account factors including providers’ interest rates, conditions to access money and whether there is a high minimum investment.
Marcus received five stars for its application process, clarity of statements and online banking service, earning a 68 per cent customer store and 76 per cent product score.
Monzo Bank and First Direct received the highest customer scores of all providers – 73 and 70 per cent respectively – but Which? said they missed out on recommended provider status due to the less appealing interest rates they offered.
Their product scores were 65 and 64 per cent respectively.
HSBC, Clydesdale Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Sainsbury’s Bank received relatively low customer scores of 50 per cent or below, with HSBC at the bottom on just 46 per cent.
The highest product score was earned by Barclays (93 per cent), followed by HSBC, Metro Bank and Coventry Building Society (all 84 per cent).
Gareth Shaw, head of Which? Money, said: “Savers shouldn’t put up with below-average rates or customer service.
“For anyone not happy with their provider, it may be worth doing some research and switching to a better option.”