48% of VI residents not saving for a rainy day - FSC report
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, November 22, 2011, Ms. Donovan reported that from the surveym less than one in two adults or 48 percent have enough money saved that would last them more than six months if they lost their main source of income.
“Only one in five adults have enough money saved to last at least three months but not six months. While one in eight adults have enough money saved to last at least one month, but not three, and a small percentage of the adults only have enough savings to last less than a month,” she told journalists.
Not surprising is that individuals in the higher income bracket appear to be saving at a greater rate than others, but interestingly, men it seem are saving at a higher rate than women.
From the report, close to three in five men or 58 percent have enough money saved that would last them more than six months if they lost their main source of income, compared to two in five women or 40 percent for the same period.
Furthermore, British nationals “appear to have the far highest saving rate, followed by American then Virgin Islanders”, the report indicates. Meanwhile, other Caribbean nationals as a group appear to be saving at a lower rate than all other national groups.
And of all the categories, individuals’ ages 20 to 29 have the lowest rate of savings, and highest number of savers was reported to be between ages 80 and 89.
In summarising the aspect of financial planning, the FSC found that a significant portion of the VI adults prefer to defer spending today in order to save for tomorrow.The national survey, which was conducted over the telephone from a random pool of anonymous phone numbers, was carried out between April 19 and May 13, 2011 with 535 individuals over the age of 18.
Its objectives were to measure, using a questionnaire by the OECD International Network on Financial Education, to measure financial literacy and provide national benchmarks; compare levels of financial literacy across countries and describe levels of financial literacy in terms of key social-demographic groups and explanatory variables and identify needs and gaps.
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