Japanese in Their Twenties Have More Savings After Pandemic Year

An SMBC Consumer Finance survey conducted in November 2020 found that on average, Japanese people in their twenties had ¥720,000 in savings, a rise of ¥190,000 from the last survey in December 2019. A significant increase was seen in the amount of savings for married couples, rising by ¥700,000 to ¥1.3 million. It was an indication that more people have become more budget-conscious during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the drop in income, as well as fewer opportunities to spend money.

The survey received 1,000 valid responses from people in their twenties. The previous survey was conducted in December 2019.

The most common amount for current savings was in the range of less than ¥500,000 with 40.8%. Next was ¥0 (18.2%), and then ¥500,000 to ¥1 million (14.1%), ¥1 million to ¥2 million (10.2%), and ¥2 million to ¥3 million (6.6%). For single people, average savings were ¥610,000. An increase could also be seen here of ¥140,000 from ¥470,000 in the last survey.

The most popular response for how much money they could use freely each month was under ¥10,000 (29.2%), followed by ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 (18.6%), ¥20,000 to ¥30,000 (15.2%), ¥40,000 to ¥50,000 (13.0%), and ¥0 (10.2%). The average amount available for free spending increased by ¥638 from the previous survey to ¥29,398.

Respondents were also asked how much savings they felt would allow for a comfortable retirement. The most popular answer was ¥5 million to ¥10 million (21.5%), followed by ¥10 million to ¥20 million (20.0%), less than ¥5 million (17.4%), and ¥20 million to ¥30 million (12.1%). In this case, the average amount saw a substantial drop to ¥18.8 million, compared to ¥25.1 million at the time of the last survey.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta)