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<\/p>\nSavers over 60 could need as much as \u00a350,000 stowed away in cash to have a big enough savings buffer to fall back on, research suggests.<\/p>\n
As a rule of thumb, experts recommend keeping three to six months worth of essential spending in cash savings to cover you.<\/p>\n
But for those in their sixties and above, this grows to between one and three years’ worth of savings to cover essential costs.<\/p>\n
This is because savers who reach the age of retirement and stop working are usually on a lower fixed income.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah Coles, director of personal finance at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown explains: ‘This change kicks in whenever you stop working, when you need savings to cover one to three years’ worth of expenses.’<\/p>\n
‘When you’re on a lower fixed income, if you’re hit with costs out of the blue, you’ll need to dip into your savings, and it takes longer to rebuild them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Having enough savings to cover longer period allows for more than one nasty surprise before you’ve had time to recover.’<\/p>\n
While you are of working age, you need cash to cover three to six months’ worth of emergency spending for the household.<\/p>\n
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Rule of thumb: Experts\u00a0recommend keeping three to six months worth of essential spending in cash<\/p>\n
How much do YOU need to save?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Households spend an average of \u00a32,062 on essentials each month, a report from stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown found.<\/p>\n
This means the average amount a household will need to have saved is between \u00a36,186 and \u00a312,327.<\/p>\n
But this amount varies based on how much your monthly essential costs are. The recommended amount of emergency savings for a household varies between just under \u00a35,000 and just over \u00a350,000, depending on your age and circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those aged 60 and over have the lowest costs of \u00a31,392 a month. If you are aged 60 or above, you need to have between \u00a316,704 and \u00a350,112 saved to have the recommended one to three years worth of savings to cover essential costs.<\/p>\n
If you are in your 50s,\u00a0the average monthly costs for households is \u00a31,758.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Therefore\u00a0you need to have between \u00a35,274 and \u00a310,548 saved to meet the three to six month emergency buffer recommendation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Those in their 40s have the highest average monthly costs of \u00a32,353,\u00a0according to Hargreaves Lansdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘It’s an expensive time of life, because often people will have children living at home in their 40s, so their outgoings will be higher. In many cases they will also be paying the mortgage on a family home,’ says Coles<\/p>\n
This means this age group would need to have between \u00a37,059 and \u00a314,118 saved to have a sufficient emergency buffer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you are in your 30s your average monthly costs are estimated at\u00a0\u00a32,264. To have the recommended level of savings you would need to have between \u00a36,792 and \u00a313,584 saved in an emergency pot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those in their 20s have average monthly costs of\u00a0\u00a31,606 and so would need\u00a0to have between \u00a34,818 and \u00a39,636 saved to meet the recommended three to six month emergency buffer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The average amount a household will need to have saved is between \u00a36,186 and \u00a312,327.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Are we saving enough?<\/p>\n
Almost two thirds of people have built a decent emergency savings safety net to support them if life takes a turn for the unexpected, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.<\/p>\n
But younger savers are more likely fall short. It hits a low between the ages of 20 and 24, when only 31 per cent hold enough cash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those who have health issues are also more likely to fall short on emergency savings as they have higher costs. Three quarters of those in poor health do not have enough saved, as do more than half of renters and half of single people living on their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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