The monthly personal saving rate in the United States fluctuated considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the year 2020, households' saving rate in the United States peaked in April at 33.8 percent. As of October 2022, personal savings in the United States amounted to 2.3 percent of Americans' disposable income, back to pre-pandemic levels.

During the initial outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and throughout 2020, many people around the world accumulated a considerable amount of savings. Recent estimates calculated the so-called excess savings to be as high as 7.2 percent of GDP in the United States, amounting to approximately 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of 2020. European countries also experienced a similar trend, with excess savings in Spain worth six percent of the country’s GDP, and 4.3 percent in Germany.

What are excess savings?

Excess savings can be defined as any additional amount of money that exceeds the expected value of savings during a specific period. It could sound like a paradox but, despite many people losing their jobs and businesses shutting down due to the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, widespread lockdowns and movement restrictions drove people to reduce spending and increase savings. In fact, the measure undertaken by governments to tackle the outbreak led to saving rates reaching unprecedented heights in many countries across the world, particularly in the wealthiest economies.

What to do with all the money?

It is hard to predict how consumption behavior will develop after the restrictions are lifted and life goes back to pre-pandemic normality. However, we know that those who were able to save more money are generally high-income individuals, as was observed in Canada, for instance. This could mean that their spending will not necessarily increase significantly. Also, the results of a survey conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) in March 2021, revealed that one in ten individuals was planning to spend the additional savings accumulated during 2020, while the vast majority was inclined to keep them in their bank accounts.

In December 2024, the personal saving rate in the United States amounted to 3.8 percent. That was slightly lower figure than a year earlier. 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 in the U.S. and abroad Looking at the personal saving rate in the United States throughout the past decades, it can be observed that savings had been decreasing until the mid-2000s, and they increased after the 2008 financial crisis. Still, the largest savings rates were reached in 2020 and 2021. The reason for that increase in the savings rate that year might be related to the measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The value of personal savings in the United Kingdom has also followed a similar trend. Although events like the COVID-19 pandemic may have affect many countries in a similar way, the ability to save, as well as the average savings as a share of personal income across countries can vary significantly depending on multiple factors affecting each territory.

Personal savings in the United States reached a value of 911 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, which is significantly higher than in 2022. Personal savings peaked in 2020 at nearly 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars. Those figures remained very high until 2021. The excess savings during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and other countries were the main reason for that increase, as the measures implemented to contain the spread of the virus had an impact on consumer spending.

Saving before and after the 2008 financial crisisDuring the periods of growth and certain economic stability in the pre-2008 crisis period, there were falling savings rates. People were confident the good times would stay and felt comfortable borrowing money. Credit was easily accessible and widely available, which encouraged people to spend money. However, in times of austerity, people generally tend to their private savings due to a higher economic uncertainty. That was also the case in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Savings and inflationThe economic climate of high inflation and rising Federal Reserve interest rates in the U.S. made it increasingly difficult to save money in 2022. Not only does inflation affect the ability of people to save, but reversely, consumer behavior also affects inflation. On the one hand, prices can increase when the production costs are higher. That can be the case, for example, when the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil or other raw materials increases. On the other hand, when people have a lot of savings and the economy is strong, high levels of consumer demand can also increase the final price of products.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the measures implemented by governments to slow down the outbreak forced people worldwide to change their financial behaviors. As the graph shows, many people were able to save more money, due to lockdowns and business closures. For instance, more than 30 percent of respondents in Hong Kong, France, Indonesia, China, and India said that they saved more money during 2020. On the other hand, some people needed to dip into their savings or even borrow more money to face the crisis. Specifically, more then 20 percent of respondents in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and India were forced to go into debt to overcome the difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Total household net savings in Canada fluctuated considerably during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As of the second quarter of 2020, the net savings of Canadian households peaked at a value of 410 billion Canadian dollars. In the last quarter of 2020, total household net savings in Canada amounted to 159 billion Canadian dollars approximately. Generally, the amount of savings reached unprecedented highs worldwide during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent measures introduced by governments to tackle the outbreak.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many Americans had to face changes to their work and financial situation, especially at the beginning of the outbreak, when generalized lockdowns were implemented. According to a survey conducted throughout the year, between 31 percent and 44 percent of the respondents in the United States saw their savings decrease, while approximately one in two said their savings were not impacted by the pandemic. On the other hand, a lucky minority experienced an increase in their savings, especially towards the second half of the year.

During the initial outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and throughout 2020, many people around the world accumulated a considerable amount of savings. Recent estimates calculated the so-called excess savings to be as high as 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of 2020. European countries also registered an increase in savings, even though to a much smaller degree. For instance, excess savings in Germany were estimated at 169 billion U.S. dollars.

Among the United States (U.S.) households who entirely depleted their savings because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the largest share (26 percent) was aged between 25 and 34 years. Households between 35 and 44 years of age followed, with 21 percent of the respondents admitting that they had to use up their savings due to COVID-19 and the consequent measures introducted to tackle the outbreak.

In a survey conducted in March 2022 about the impact of COVID-19 in India, around 40 percent of the respondents cited a drop in the total household savings. However, about 34 percent of respondents revealed a increase in savings.

Gross household saving rate in the European Union - 27 countries fluctuated slightly between 11 and 13 percent from the first quarter of 2010 to the last quarter 2019. In 2020, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the measures implemented by governments to tackle the outbreak, household saving rates reached unprecedented heights. In particular, in the second quarter of 2020, the gross household saving rate in the European Union amounted to 23.4 percent.

As of October 2020, 23 percent of people surveyed in the European Union declared that they had used personal saving sooner than they had planned during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. When considering differences between women and men, the results of the survey showed that women were more likely to resort to using personal savings sooner than planned during the pandemic. Approximately 24 percent of women used savings earlier than expected compared to 22 percent of men.

The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the retirement plans of households in the United States varied greatly across the generations considered. As of 2020, approximately one-quarter of the millennial surveyed (24 to 38 years of age) declared to have withdrawn from their emergency fund or savings account because of the coronavirus pandemic. On the other hand, this impact was reported by only ten percent of the respondents aged between 55 to 73 years (boomers).

As of September 2020, the majority of households in the United Kingdom planned to keep the savings they build up during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in their bank accounts. On the other hand, only a minor share of the respondents was planning to invest their additional savings in stocks (10.3 percent) or to spend them (9.5 percent).

On average, 30 percent of European households started saving more because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As of May 2020, 41 percent of the households in Luxembourg declared that the COVID-19 pandemic led them to save more. On the other hand, this impact was reported by only 18 percent of households in Czechia.

Household gross saving rate in the United Kingdom spiked during the second quarter of 2020, reaching 25.9 percent, nearly three times as high as in the first quarter of the year. This unprecedented increase is due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the resulting widespread lockdown and temporary business closures. a similar increase can be seen during the second generalized lockdown implemented during the first quarter of 2021.

In 2020, the majority of households in the United States (U.S.) declared that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic allowed them to save money. For instance, 28 percent of the respondents said that they were able to save significanlty by not going out to eat. Furthermore, 75 percent of the respondents saved by not going on vacation or trips.

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the risk of loss of income in Polish households have not significantly changed the attitude of Poles to saving. Before the epidemic, nearly 65 percent of respondents were saving, and after the COVID-19 outbreak, this percentage will increase to 83 percent.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Despite some exceptions, the household savings rate during the COVID-19 pandemic was quite high in most of the countries considered. As of 2020, the saving rate of households in Switzerland was the highest among the selected countries (23.1 percent). Ireland followed in the list, with a saving rate of 21.6 percent.

The saving rate of Canadian households increased considerably during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As of the second quarter of 2020, the saving rate of households in Canada peaked at 26.5 percent. By the fourth quarter of 2024, Canadian households saved on average 6.1 percent of their disposable income.