Only 20% of Northland Westpac customers make monthly payments into savings. Photo / DepositPhotos
By Susan Edmunds - RNZ
A third of New Zealanders have savings of less than $500, Westpac says, with Auckland and Northland lagging the rest of the country.
Westpac has released new data that shows Canterbury and Otago are top of the savings stakes – in both regions 28% of Westpac customers are making monthly payments into savings, and they have the highest median savings balance of $4200.
Those regions also had the highest proportion of customers with savings of $15,000 or more, at 32%.
Auckland and Northland were at the opposite end, with only 20% of customers making monthly payments into savings and median savings balances of less than $1500.
Overall, 36% of people had less than $500 in savings. The median amount being saved each month was $150 and only 38% had a Westpac KiwiSaver balance over $40,000.
Some savings account interest rates are quite low.
Warren Ngan Woo, programme manager for financial wellbeing for Westpac NZ, said that could be driving people to look at other options.
“I think people are looking at those options around other sort of investment types.
“When you think of platforms that are out there, those micro investment platforms that are on the market … people are sort of saying, maybe I’ll shave a little bit off my savings, put a little bit into that to have a little bit of a dabble, a bit of a go into that.
“I always encourage people to just do your research, make sure it fits you and what you’re looking at … people should look at other avenues, try not to have all your eggs in one basket but have a look at different investment classes that might suit their life and stage and their position and what their goals are now and into the future.”
Sarah Hearn, Westpac’s managing director of product, sustainability and marketing, said customers with money in low-interest accounts received nudge emails encouraging them to look at better options.
“Good savings habits can make a big difference in the long run. Even if you’re only putting aside a small amount each month, simply establishing the behaviour is a great start,” she said.
She said some people would be focusing on paying off their mortgages rather than saving but 81% of Westpac home loan customers had a savings account.
“We know costs are typically higher in Auckland than in other regions and that’s reflected in this savings data,” she said.
“And around the country, households and businesses continue to grapple with high costs. Saving more money might feel unrealistic for many people right now and we understand that. But taking some time to review your overall spending and making small savings commitments can have a big impact over time.”
Ngan Woo said the South Island’s outperformance reflected the positive signs of activity in the economy.
“Auckland being a big economic hub that it is, we haven’t been immune to a few things with business closures and the like and restructures across businesses.”
He said the overall figure of 36% having a balance of less than $500 painted a picture of things still being difficult for households.
“We’re trying to do our best to keep things as optimistic and positive as possible, it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, if we keep talking about, ‘oh, it’s hard, it’s tough’.”
He said he encouraged people to start small and build lasting habits that could be built upon when circumstances improved.