And finally…forget the inheritance! Older Scots spending savings on themselves  

Last year, Bank of Scotland found that 1 in 4 Scots over age 55 aspired to travel round the world in the next five years. And in 2017, the Bank has revealed that half of Scots over 55 are saving to go travelling in the next 1-2 years.

When asked to think about plans for saving for the long term, more Scots over 55 are saving to travel than saving to leave money behind for their family. Almost a third (28 per cent) of people aged over 55 are saving to go travelling, compared to just 13 per cent who are saving in the short term to leave money for their family.

Only 2 per cent of Scots aged between 45-54 admitted that they are saving in the short term to leave money behind for their family.

As well as saving to travel, older Scots are saving to treat themselves too. Almost two in five (37 per cent) of Scots over 55 are saving for a specific purchase and older Scots are saving to treat themselves instead of someone else. Less than a third of older Scots are saving to help out a family member should they need it and only 1 in 10 are saving to help pay for an event, such as a family wedding.

What’s clear is that older Scots are savvy savers with 3 in 5 (59 per cent) putting some money away for an emergency. And they are five times more likely to plan for a rainy day than saving directly to pass money to their family as part of an inheritance.

With the percentage of the UK population over age 65 increasing from 14.1 per cent to 17.8 per cent between 1975 and 2015 (ONS March 2017), it’s no surprise that older people are saving up and using their money to enjoy themselves in later life.

Mike Moran, Director, Bank of Scotland, said: “With more people living longer, it’s encouraging to see that older Scots are putting their savings to good use in later life. Getting into the habit of saving a little each month can make the difference when it comes to treating yourself as you approach retirement but it’s good to see that older Scots are also focused on keeping some money back for a rainy day.”