70% of Poles think it is worthwhile to save, but only... 13% do this regularly. The 9th edition of the survey "Attitudes of Poles towards Finances" looks at why saving is still a challenge for us.
For nearly a decade The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation has been researching the attitudes of Poles towards finances. Over the years some improvement is evident; however there is still a discrepancy between the declared approach to saving and the actual facts. Indeed, in 2010, 58% of those surveyed saw sense in saving, and today the figure is 70%, but the change in the number of those who save regularly is minimal - 10% of respondents did so in 2010, and 13% at present. More often it is Polish women who see sense in saving (23% vs 18% of Polish men), and this is a part of society that more regularly, and with the support of professional sources of information (51% vs 42% of men), makes use of materials from financial institutions when making decisions.
Declarations vs practice
"Surveys clearly indicate that we realize the importance of saving. But in the practical sphere, things look a little different. 41% set aside money from time to time, out of whom a quarter declare that saving . is not worthwhile. This shows that setting aside money is a rather sporadic activity for us.In fact, only 13% of us save regularly, which represents a decline compared to last year, when 16% of respondents declared that they did," says Krzysztof Kaczmar, president of The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation.
"70% of us believe that it is worth saving, yet only 13% do so regularly. This proportion has varied over the years, from 6% in 2009 to 16% in 2015. But it is still quite small. Households justify this on the basis of having incomes that are still too low, but on the other hand maybe we needmore extensive educational activities at the national level in order to increase the financial awareness of Poles," says Dr. DariuszDanilewicz, president of the Think! Foundation.
What motivates us to save, at least in the declarative sphere? For sure, having children. A large majority of those who have kids (76%) believe that it is worth saving, while only 15% don't see any sense in this. For comparison, among people who don't have children, the figures are somewhat different: 65% vs 24%. Those who have kids set aside money (65%) more often than those who don't (48%).
How and how much do we save?
Nearly a quarter of us (23%) have funds in a personal account, but an unusually large number of Poles (17%) still choose the proverbial "sock" as a way of investing money. Slightly fewer (16%) keep their money in a savings account or a term account (14%), We don't make use of investment funds (only 5% do this) and even fewer of us invest in bonds (1%) or play the stock market (1%).
"Such an approach to finances is a correlation of two factors: knowledge and trust," stresses Marcin Rosiecki, Director of the Department of Private Banking at Citi Handlowy. "Unfortunately, in the field of knowledge about finances, one can still see that there are serious gaps; so there is clearly a need for education in this area, especially given that the most popular tool for investing savings remains interest-free personal accounts (ROR). Nearly one out of five savers understand setting aside money as putting it into a drawer in an envelope, with investment products constituting only 10% of the indicated methods of saving. On the plus side, when Poles do decide to obtain advice about their money ?- which unfortunately survey respondents rarely do - they turn most often for information to the staff or materials of financial institutions (46%)."
Maybe our problem is that we do not have a specific objective for which we save (25%) and although nearly one-third (29%) set aside funds for a rainy day,a lotof us (38%) set aside only 100-125 PLN every month.
What about retirement?
Only 11% of Poles think about retirement in a financial context. And, unfortunately, we are not optimistic regarding our pensions: nearly a third (29%) of us think that they will be at least 50% lower than their current salary. That is why probably more than half of us (57%) believe that the state should offer incentives for saving for "the golden years" in the form of tax breaks (49%) and specially dedicated programs (20%).On what should our pensions depend? A majority of Poles believe that they should be based on the number of years worked and on salary levels, but there are also quite a few who think that they should be the same for everyone (24%).
The survey on "Attitudes of Poles towards Finances" was carried out as part of the "Savings Week" campaign, conducted since 2007 by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation and the Think! Foundation.A grant for implementation of the project was awarded by United Way Worldwide thanks to funds from Citi Foundation.
The Savings Week Program is mainly aimed at young people aged 16-25. For several years, its main goal was the financial education of schoolchildren, students, and selected social and professional groups. Since 2016 the program has focused more on support for entrepreneurial attitudes.
The strategic partner for the Savings Week Program is Citi Handlowy. In addition, the partners of this year's edition of the Program are: The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the Polish Bank Association, the Center for Banking Law and Information, and the Department of Management and Economics of Services of the University of Szczecin.
