Authors
Related Themes
Monetary Theory and PolicyJournal
National Institute Economic Review, No. 198
External Resources
We set out a framework for measuring the adequacy of saving in the United Kingdom by assessing the absolute level of savings based on individual preferences of different ages. We examine this relationship between age and savings using data from the United Kingdom Expenditure and Food Survey 2004-5. We show that while the level of national saving is about 8.4 percentage points of net national income lower than is required if one assumes that each cohort pays its own way, wealth holdings are considerably higher than are required on the same basis. Looking at household, rather than national saving, the current pattern of benefits on public sector pensions removes the need to save for old age. While perhaps £4000m of household wealth holding can be accounted for by bequest and other transfer motives, our results suggest excess wealth holding of around £1600m in 2004.
Related Blog Posts


How can the Chancellor Mitigate the Impact of Various Shocks in Wednesday’s Spring Statement?
Stephen Millard
Adrian Pabst
4 min read


Related Projects
Related News
-640x360.jpg)
Time to scrap current fiscal rules – and focus on more explicit policy evaluation, NIESR research shows
23 Apr 2021
4 min read

NIESR Press Note: Budget 2021: Today’s triumphs won’t solve tomorrow’s problems
03 Mar 2021
5 min read
Related Publications
The Dollar Debt of Companies in Latin America: the warning signs
03 Mar 2022
Discussion Papers
Commentary: Rethinking regional regeneration
30 Dec 2021
National Institute Economic Review
Related events

2022 Dow Lecture: The Economy and Policy Trade-Off

Autumn Economic Forum

