EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
Only 22% or just over a fifth of Bulgarians save. Of these one million and two hundred thousand people, only 37% save monthly. Bulgarians save mainly for emergencies (68%) and vacations and excursions (42%). Only after that, the priorities of savers come to long-term accumulation of value – for retirement 13%, for the purchase of property 12% and for investing 6%.
This is shown by the results of a joint study by the Trend Research Center and the Expert Club for Economics and Politics (EKIP). The study also shows that Bulgarians rely on outdated understandings of investment instruments - they store their savings in bank deposits, despite the negative real profitability, invest in foreign currency, which, unlike the 1990s, does not protect against inflation, and of the value-preserving assets, real estate remains the only widely popular one.
According to the survey, over a third or 37% of Bulgarian savers set aside money monthly. These are more often women, as well as people over 60 years of age. The same percentage set aside money when they receive additional money such as bonuses and income from other places. Just over 20% of Bulgarians say they save both monthly and extra income.
The most popular instruments for saving and investing are bank deposits (84%), followed by savings accounts (61%). Although the majority use bank deposits, comparatively only 7% define them as the safest investment.
About one-fifth invest in foreign currency (21%), housing (18%) and/or land (18%), respectively. Physical investment gold is used by 5% of Bulgarian savers. These are mainly men between 20 and 40 years old, with higher education, from Sofia and with an income of over 2,000 leva.
To learn more, follow this link to access the full study.
