Women are falling behind men in the savings department, according to the quarterly National Savings and Investments (NS&I) survey.

Men’s average savings are now 50% higher than women’s are said the report. Men hold an average total of £21,026 compared to women’s average total of £13,989. Though both have increased their overall savings since the autumn, men have widened the gap between their and women’s savings from £5,288 to £7,037. This is also illustrated in the gap between the monthly amount saved regularly and the percentage of average income saved.

However, women are closing the gap in the proportion of regular savers and propensity to save. They also continue to have higher aspirations to save.

Savings gap between men and women – winter quarter Savings behaviour Men (autumn)* Women (autumn) Gap (autumn) Percentage of income saved each month 7.26% (6.88%) 6.58% (6.58%) 0.68% (0.30%) Total average savings £21,026 (£18,879) £13,989 (£13,591) £7,037 (£5,288) Amount saved every month £182.28 (£177.79) £131.25 (£144.82) £51.03 (£32.97) Percentage of regular savers 60% (59%) 52% (49%) 8% (10%) Percentage of income they would like to save per month 14.04% (13.57%) 15.28% (15.70%) -1.24% (-2.13%) Propensity to save in next 3 months 13%  (-1%) 4%  (-16%) 9% (15%) *All figures in brackets = autumn quarter survey

In general, saving seems back in fashion

Data from the propensity to save tracker shows saving is back in fashion, with people much more positive about their savings ability over the next three months. A balance of +9% of people say they would be more likely to save, a huge improvement on autumn’s negative result of –8%. While this doesn’t dictate actual behaviour it is a good sign that people plan to save more.

Age

The majority of people showed a negative propensity to save in the autumn. Perhaps buoyed up by their achievements over this quarter the majority are now expecting to save more not less. 16-24 year-olds again had the highest propensity to save, increasing from +24% to a huge +44% this quarter. All other age groups also intend to save more in the spring, with the exception of over 65s who you would expect to be in the process of spending their savings.

Regions

Yorkshire and Humberside had a low propensity to save (-18%) in the autumn survey and this quarter confirms that they meant it. They dropped from being the best savers to the worst savers in the UK. This winter survey shows they intend to do better next quarter, with a propensity of +19%. All the other regions have improved propensity to save except East Anglia which has dropped from +1% to –2%.

Overall actual savings in the winter months have outperformed the propensity to save recorded in the autumn, with savers generally improving rather than saving less. The next saving survey should see a much larger improvement in savings if people live up to their good intentions.