site.bta22% of Bulgarians Save Portion of Their Income - Survey

Around 1.2 million people in Bulgaria, or 22% of the adult population, save up, according to a poll conducted by Research Center Trend on behalf of Experts Club for Economics and Politics (ECEP) among 810 adults in early June. About 84% of those who save do so through bank deposits, ECEP economist Stoyan Panchev said at the BTA National Press Club in Sofia on Wednesday.

Younger people tend to save less than older people. People with higher education put aside more money, but this can also be explained with their higher income and better financial literacy.

Of those who save up, around 58% do it every month.

About 39% of the 1.2 million save up to 10% of their income. Another close to 35% of people save between 10% and 20%, while 15% of the savers set aside between 20% and 30% of their income. Only 3% of all savers can set aside between 30% and 40% of their income, while 1% save more than 40% of their income. The remaining 7% of the respondents were unable to determine the share of their income that they saved.

Over the last two decades, Bulgarians' opportunities to save have increased thanks to higher incomes, the different financial monetary environment associated with the International Monetary Fund, and a stable banking environment without crises, the experts said.

Bank deposits with a current account are most commonly used to save money, which leads to wastage of money and shows low financial literacy, the experts reported. About 20% of people save in foreign currency, although the lev (BGN) is stable. Housing and land are historically another major asset of Bulgarians, however, just like holding money in foreign currency, they are a form of investment or speculation. Only 5% of people are willing to invest or store their money in an instrument such as investment gold.

Some 68% save to deal with potential emergencies and accidents, 42% save for vacations or travel, 38% save for house renovations, 21% save for family celebrations, 19% save to purchase new appliances, 15% save for a car, 12% save for education, also 12% do so to buy real estate, and 1% save for healthcare. About 6%, mostly men under 60 with income over BGN 2,000 and living in the capital or a regional city, save for investments. Respondents could give more than one reason for saving.

Panchev said that in the context of low interest rates and high inflation, especially in the past four years, people are willing to lose a little money every year by keeping their funds on a bank deposit, but they dare not invest.