Recent surveys showed that about a quarter of families in Germany do not have any savings, which could be quickly accessed in case of necessity. This explains the low income levels and the growth of monthly living expenses.
However, this category of people has been shrinking over the past few years. If in the survey conducted in 2013, five years ago, this share exceeded 30%, then in the latest survey conducted in December of last year, for Germans with savings, it first exceeded 70% and amounted to exactly 70.7%.
However, it turned out that this record indicator "mainly reflects the question of reserved savings in times of economic instability, rather than a reflection of a wide improvement in financial well-being," according to economists from ING Bank. Almost three-quarters of respondents (71.9%) stated that they save money primarily in anticipation of possible difficulties. Among other reasons for savings, vacations and travel (46.4%) or planning for future major expenses (43.5%) were mentioned.
More than half of the savers participating in the survey are confident that their savings will be enough for at least half a year in case of loss of income, while 40.7% believe that their savings are enough for a year or even more. According to the data from the National Bank of Germany, financial savings of families in Germany reached a record level of 9004 billion euros by the end of the third quarter of 2024, and economic experts expect that by the end of this year the total will be around 10 trillion euros.
