Lower income families 'save more for their children'
Published On 11 September 2007
While people on low incomes in the UK might struggle with debt problems and getting a mortgage, they are working hard to save for their children, new research suggests.Engage Mutual found that lower income families are putting a greater proportion of their total income into their offspring's Child Trust Funds (CTF) than people who are more well off.
The figures show that parents on lower incomes invest 1.1 per cent of their post-tax monthly salary into CTFs - compared to 0.6 per cent for higher income parents.
What's more, people on lower incomes seem to be increasing how much they save for their children's future, as this group has increased the amount put into CTFs by nine per cent since May 2005.
"With more than 2.7 million CTF accounts open in the UK to date, our experience suggests that lower income families are leading by example," commented Karl Elliott, marketing director at Engage.
"Regardless of household income, everyone should be encouraged to save for their children. We would urge parents to set aside a small amount of money on a regular basis and they will be surprised to see how each monthly instalment could add up over the long term."
A study from NS&I recently suggested that as many as 35 per cent of people in the UK feel uneasy if they do not manage to save as much money as they want.
