7% of South Africa's senior citizens feel they've saved enough

18 Aug 2015

A recent poll reveals that only 7% of South Africa's senior citizens feel that they had saved enough in their lifetime and were satisfied with their financial situation.

7% of South Africa's senior citizens feel they've saved enough

The poll was part of Momentum's campaign to highlight the recent National Savings Month - Life Is #WorthSavingFor.

In the study, more than 500 senior citizens (over the age of 55) were asked to rate the most important things to save for in life.

Almost half (46%) of the respondents ranked retiring comfortably as the most important thing to save for, with buying a home in second place (18% of the votes), followed by health care (11%).

Only 1% said they thought it was most important to save for luxuries like cellphones or a new pair of shoes.

The benefit of hindsight

The top three things people wish they had saved more for were:

Retirement (61%)

Saving for holidays (9%)

Buying property (8%)

Interestingly, more senior citizens said that they wish they had saved more for holidays, rather than education and emergencies.

Savings advice

When these seniors were asked what they thought was the best way to spend your hard-earned money on, only 4% felt that it was a good idea to spend your money on 'buying things'.

55,2% of them said that they thought it was better to save your money, and

40,4% said you need to spend it on experiencing life.

Fränzo Friedrich, Head of Momentum's Upper Segment Marketing and Communications said: "The poll reflects that people are becoming more aware of their state of financial wellness and how this impacts experiencing a full and rewarding life and being able to retire comfortably. It's great advice for the younger generations: Make sure you provide for your old age, save money for those truly memorable life experiences, and don't just buy things".