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en-us http://backend.userland.com/rss Your Friends @ Myvesta.org.uk (stever@myvesta.org) myvestaukblog_archive.html Families Are Failing To Save Up stever@myvesta.org 114306252130190698 Half of all UK households - 49pc - have either no savings or a maximum of only £1,500 in their savings account, the Department for Work and Pensions has found.

The figure, revealed in a survey, will fuel fears about how prepared households are for financial difficulties, such as rises in unemployment.

The survey coincides with figures showing that seven out of 10 families receive benefits from the government.

Household debt has hit record levels, with the latest evidence suggesting many households are extending their mortgages to pay off credit-card bills and overdrafts.

Economists are increasingly worried that the continued build-up in debt could cause a second, more severe slowdown in the wider economy.

The hope was that the Bank of England's previous round of interest-rate rises had persuaded families to cut back on debts, but recent figures suggest this has not happened.

The numbers suggest that the savings ratio is now gradually increasing as families cut back on their borrowing. As a result, retail sales have fallen in past months as shops struggled to attract customers.

The numbers were published by the Work and Pensions Department as part of its annual survey of households' finances.

The survey also showed that 69pc of households received at least one state benefit, such as incapacity benefit or tax credits. The figure shows how much some families rely on government handouts.

A geographical breakdown of these numbers shows how much different parts of the UK are dependent on the state. In the north-east, about 26pc of families receive council-tax benefits and almost one in 10 families receives incapacity benefits.

The comparable figures in the south-east are 12pc and 3pc respectively. Similarly, only 59pc of families in London receive benefits.

The survey also showed that 57pc of working-age employees have some kind of private pension provision.

By Edmund Conway (Filed: 20/03/2006) - The Telegraph

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