People are putting less money by than before - but a significant number plan to save more in future.
Britons are saving less and less each month, as the effects of the recession make themselves felt on personal finances up and down the country.
A major new survey from Abbey, released today, shows that people are saving an average of £120 per month. This is a decline of £43 from three months ago - a clear signal that people's budgets are under more pressure than before.
Big gender differences were also revealed by the research, with men typically saving £155 and women £86. The disparity is largely explained by men earning more than women on average, however.
Overall, 62 percent of savers were revealed to have an instant-access savings account, while 43 percent were protecting their deposits from tax by paying into a cash ISA.
Abbey also highlighted the fact that 25 percent of people plan to increase the amount they save each month within six months. This corresponds with a survey from Nationwide released earlier this week, which showed a slight rise in savers' confidence about the general financial conditions.
Cash savings have been hit hard by recent policy decisions from the Bank of England, aimed at encouraging high street banks to lend more in order to kick-start recovery from the current recession. The institution's lending rate has been taken down from five to just 0.5 percent - meaning that returns from most cash savings accounts have been reduced, lessening the impetus for consumers to put more money by.
Reza Attar-Zadeh, director of savings and investments at Abbey, said: "This insight into the current state of British savings allows us to track the nation's savings habits closely; we are certainly observing an overall decline which may not come [as] a huge surprise, but it's positive to see that there are some good intentions out there."
