Brits haven't saved for a rainy day

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

People in Britain are not confident that they have put enough money aside to survive for more than one month in the event that they lost their job, according to a new survey.

Research conducted by Sainsbury's Bank has revealed that one in five do not believe their savings would see them past a month out of work.

Only 22 per cent of people say that they have more than the recommended £5,000 cash saved for a rainy day.

In addition, the survey found that 30 per cent of working adults have saved less than £500, and 12 per cent have no savings at all.

Savings business manager at Sainsbury's Bank, Pauline White, said: "While it's alarming that 20 per cent of people in work fear that they may not be able to survive on their savings for more than a month, our research indicates that the situation could in fact be far worse with not even half (43 per cent) of the working population holding more than £1,000 worth of available cash savings."