Are mortgage interest rates helping the rich save more?

A short secondary analysis

We wanted to investigate how the recession has impacted Brits' saving habits.

Aim

We wanted to investigate how the recession has impacted Brits' saving habits.

Findings

We found that unlike in previous recession people, on the whole, are not putting away more money. This is probably because low interest rates make saving less appealing and the long-term squeeze on real incomes due to higher tax, rising energy prices and falling real wages mean people are less able to put money aside.

However, the riches fifth of households has not been impacted in the same way. In fact, these households have reported an increase in savings to the tune of £340 extra per month per household. It's likely to be because of falling mortgage repayments.

Method

This is a secondary analysis of The British Household Panel Study/Understanding Society and the UK Wealth and Assets Survey

 

Read the report