Young Singapore workers are bigger savers than older peers: survey

Total opposite of popular belief.

According to a survey by JobsCentral, those between the ages 21 and 30 have better saving habits than their older peers. About 46 per cent indicated they save more than 20 per cent of their income.

This is almost double of those in the 41 to 50 years age bracket, in which only one-quarter of workers indicated they did so.

“Surprisingly, the results dash common perceptions that the Gen-Y group spends more than they save. This is encouraging news indeed. Perhaps older workers have more financial responsibilities like mortgage and car payments, plus supporting a family, thus resulting in a lower percentage of income saved,” adds Michelle Lim, Chief Operating Officer of JobsCentral Group..

Respondents who earn $7,000 - $7,999 per month are most likely to save over 20 per cent of their salary (61.5%). This is followed by those who earn $6,000 - $6,999 (51.1%) and $8,000 - $8,999 (50%) respectively.

Real Estate Service employees are more likely to spend than save their income. Those employed in Real Estate Services appear to have the most spendthrift habits, with just one-third (29.9%) indicating that they would save more than 20% of their monthly income.

On the other hand, workers who are employed in Public Administration and Defence services have the most conservative saving habits. Over half of those surveyed (54.9%) said they would save more than 20 per cent of their income.

Men and women are just as likely to save a portion of their monthly income, with 95 per cent of male workers and 94.7 per cent of female workers indicating they would save some money.

However, men are more inclined towards setting aside a greater percentage of income as savings. 41.5 per cent of male workers said that would save over 20 per cent of the salary, compared to 37.5 per cent of female workers.

Those at Management level are more likely to spend their salary on leisure activities. More than two-fifth (43%) of Managers and Directors indicated that they would spend a better portion of their monthly salary on entertainment and holidays. Conversely, a smaller proportion (30.6%) of Associate Professionals and technicians would spend their salary on leisure activities.