Half of over-45s are saving for a rainy day

Half of over-45s in Wales say they are saving for unforeseen future events, new research has revealed.

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As well as a ‘rainy day’ fund, a third of those surveyed said they are saving for their old age and healthcare.

Principality Building Society’s survey of Welsh savers, carried out by Beaufort Research, also revealed six out of 10 people in Wales have previously given financial help to their children or grandchildren for major life events.

However, only around a fifth of savers (22%) told the biggest building society in Wales they are currently providing financial help to their children or grandchildren.

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Cash for school or university fees (26%) was the most common reason parents and grandparents offered financial support. Help to buy a car (24%), or money towards wedding costs or a deposit for a first home (both 21%) also featured highly.

When it comes to where people will live as they get older, around half of the savers interviewed (53%) said they intend to stay in their current family home but 14% intend to downsize or move to a different type of home.  One in 10 said they would consider downsizing or moving but worry there aren’t enough suitable houses to meet their needs.

Morgan Miles, Senior Savings Product Manager at Principality Building Society, said: “Our survey shows that people in Wales do like to put their cash aside to help with big life events for their kids such as university, buying their first home and weddings. While we all want to look after our families, it’s always worth considering how we manage our spending and putting some cash away each month.

“Saving up is not always easy with the rising cost of living. The majority of older savers are perhaps busy paying off their own mortgage, saving for retirement or holidays as well as helping out their children and grandchildren.  As many savvy savers will know, pre-planning over the longer term could avoid one month being thriftier than the next and mean people could have sufficient funds to cover any unexpected costs. This certainly applies to unexpected costs due to the impact health can have on household income.

“The survey also shows savers clearly want to prosper throughout their lives and stay in their homes for longer and that requires people to put money away to help with maintenance costs and payment of bills.”