Monthly personal savings as a share of disposable income in the U.S. 2015-2022

In December 2022, the personal saving rate in the United States amounted to 3.4 percent, down from 7.5 percent in December 2021. The personal saving rate is calculated as the ratio of personal savings to disposable personal income. Within the topic of personal savings in the U.S., there are different goals and reasons for saving.

What are personal savings?

Saving refers to strategies of accumulating capital for future use by either not spending a part of one’s income or cutting down on certain costs. Saved money may be preserved as cash, put on a deposit account, or invested in various financial instruments. Investing usually incorporates some level of risk which means that part of the invested money can be gone. An example of a relatively safe investment would be saving bonds, such as the debt securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Saving trends internationally

The personal saving rate in the United States has remained high in 2021 and 2022. The measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic may be one of the reasons for that increase. The value of personal savings in the United Kingdom has also followed a similar trend. Nevertheless, the ability to save, as well as the average savings as a share of personal income across countries can also vary significantly depending on multiple factors affecting each territory.