Scottish household survey 2019: key findings

Section Six - Finance

The proportion of households reporting that they managed well financially had increased from 42% in 1999 to 56% in 2019.

The 2019 levels suggest a period of recovery following a dip between 2007 and 2012, which may be explained in part by the economic downturn during that period.

The proportion of households that did not manage well had decreased since 1999, from 13% to 8% in 2019, of all households.

This line graph shows the proportion of households managing well financially, getting by financially, not managing well financially and being in deep financial trouble, and how these proportions changed between 1999 and 2019. It highlights that the majority of households were managing well in Scotland in 2019, and that this proportion had increased over time, while the proportion of households getting by financially or not managing well had decreased over this time period.

The proportion of households managing well financially had increased both for the highest and lowest income households
This refers to the top and bottom 20% income groups

Overall, a higher proportion of older households reported that they managed well financially. This proportion increased from 45% in 1999 to 66% in 2019.

A significantly lower proportion of households with children reported to manage well financially than any other household type. However, this figure increased from 35% in 1999 to 45% in 2019.

This line graph shows the proportion of households managing well financially, differentiating between older households, households without children and households with children, and tracing these changes from 1999 to 2019. It highlights that older households generally managed better financially than other households, and that fewer households with children managed well.

15% of households whose main income was from benefits did not manage well financially
On average, 8% of households in Scotland did not manage well financially

The graph excludes households that ‘get by’ and that ‘do not manage well’.

73% of households in the 20% least deprived areas reported that they managed well financially, while only 37% did so in the 20% most deprived areas.

There was also a significantly higher proportion of households that did not manage well financially in the 20% most deprived areas, with 16% of households falling into this category.

This bar chart shows the proportion of households managing well financially, getting by financially and not managing well in 2019, comparing households in the most and least deprived areas. It highlights that more households in the least deprived areas were managing well financially, while more households in the most deprived areas were either getting by financially or not managing well financially.

21% of households in the social rented sector did not manage well financially in 2019
This was significantly higher than among owner occupier households (3%) and households in the private rented sector (14%)

The proportion of households in Scotland with any kind of savings had increased from 61% in 2009/2010 to 69% in 2019.

The proportion of households with any savings that had more than £1,000 saved increased from 46% in 2009/2010 to 56% in 2019.

In this time period, the proportion of households that had no savings decreased from 27% to 22%.

This line graph primarily shows the proportion of households in Scotland with savings and how this changed between 2009 and 2019. It also has two lighter lines, which show the proportion of households with more than £1000 in savings and the proportion of households without any savings. It highlights that the proportion of households without savings had decreased with time, and the proportion of households that had savings was increasing.

60% of single parent households had no savings in 2019

This graph excludes households that refused to answer or that did not know if they had savings.

It should be noted that the definition of a single parent does not make any distinction between situations where a child has regular contact and/or partly resides with their other parent and a child who solely resides with and is cared for by one parent

A higher proportion of households where the highest earner was younger than 40 reported to not have any savings at all – a higher proportion than any other age group.

While 77% of households where the highest income earner was aged 65 or over had savings, this was only true for 59% of households where the highest income earner was aged 39 or younger.

This bar chart shows the proportion of households having savings, differentiating between households where the person earning the most is aged 16 to 39, aged 40-64 and aged 65 or over. It highlights that a majority of households in all age groups had some savings, but that a higher proportion of older household had savings than younger households.

17% of households where the highest income earner was aged 16 to 39 had less than £1,000 in savings

This graph excludes households that refused to answer or that did not know if they had savings.