UK savers have poured cash into rainy day accounts with nearly half (48%) sitting on enough money to support themselves for at least six months, and 29% having saved enough to last more than a year, research from Investec has revealed.

The COVID-19 pandemic enabled many people to save more, as lockdown meant fewer opportunities to spend. Just over one in three savers (36%) say the amount of cash they have in savings to support them in a crisis has increased since the start of the Coronavirus crisis. Not all savers have been so lucky though, with one in five (20%) saying the length of the time they could survive on their savings fell during the crisis, and 44% saying that it remained unchanged.

Men have the biggest savings pots, with 54% confident they could survive on their savings for six months or more and 34% saying they could last more than a year. Many women also have substantial savings, with 44% able to last six months and 25% having enough saved to support them for more than a year if they lost their job or income.

However, nearly one in 10 (9%) of those questioned say they don’t have enough savings to last a month if they lose their job or income.

Samantha Booysen, head of digital savings at Investec, said: “It’s generally accepted that you need at least six months of income saved for a rainy day. It’s good to see that so many people are in that position and could survive on their savings, but it is important that their money is easily accessible in the event of losing their job or suffering a drop in income.

“Savers also need to manage their money and ensure that the rate is competitive particularly when they have such large sums saved.”

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