More than a quarter have not put any money into savings in the past 12 months

Of those that did not save any money in the last year, three in five (60 per cent) said they simply didn’t have enough money to save, and one in three (35 per cent) stated the rising cost in living prevented them putting money away. A similar proportion felt they had to manage their outstanding debt first (28 per cent).

When looking at the whole country, including those who do save, just 38 per cent are satisfied with their current level of savings. Amongst savers and potential savers, one in five (22 per cent) expect to be able to save more over the next 12 months, whilst one-half (50 per cent) expect the amount they save to remain the same over the next 12 months.

It isn’t all doom and gloom, however. There is evidence that the UK is becoming more savings savvy, with just one in four (26 per cent) saying they would rather spend than save - an improvement of four percentage points relative to June 2018 (30 per cent). Three quarters (71 per cent) care about the amount of savings they have and 81 per cent believe it is important to them to save for the future.

Mark Rawcliffe, head of variable and wealth savings products, said: “The desire to save is there, and its importance has not been lost on the people of the UK. However, it’s true to say that some are feeling so squeezed by their own living costs that they are unable to put money aside.”

“For these people, innovative ways to save may be the answer. Tools like our own Save the Change can help to round up the pennies and put them to one side, helping to build a savings buffer over time for those that weren’t able to save last year.”