A sociological study showed that the majority of young Russians do not trust deposits

The majority of Russians under 35 do not trust bank deposits as a savings tool, according to surveys conducted in 2022 and 2023. Young people also doubt that they can save up for a large purchase using small amounts.

The author’s research was carried out by Dmitry Markov, research manager of the Department of Social Research at VTsIOM, as part of his PhD thesis as a graduate student at the Financial University. After publication RBC about the surveys, Mr. Markov’s scientific supervisor, Olga Alexandrova, noted that VTsIOM has nothing to do with the study.

The surveys were conducted from February 16 to March 3, 2022 and in February 2023. 600 and 620 people took part in them, respectively. Most of the respondents live in cities with a population of 100 thousand or more. The results of the analysis of the savings culture were presented at a conference of the Institute of Socio-Economic Problems of Population of the Federal Research Sociological Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In 2023, 17% of young people are definitely sure that it is better not to keep their savings in banks, another 41% are rather sure of this. A year earlier, these figures were 13% and 43%, respectively. The lower the consumer capabilities of respondents, the less they trust deposits. 13% are confident in the regular penny strategy (which can be saved for a large purchase in small amounts); 38% are more likely to adhere to this attitude. 19% believe that the strategy does not work, 30% are more likely to think so. A year earlier, these figures were 16% and 26%, respectively. The older the respondents, the more disappointed they are with the regular penny strategy.

As the author of the study noted at the conference, the attitude of Russians under 35 to savings can be called uncertain, since they more often chose options with the prefix “rather.” This suggests that they “do not have a clearly expressed value pole.”

Young people consider real estate (67%) and valuable metals and jewelry (35%) the most reliable instruments for saving. In third place is a deposit in a bank with state participation (17%), in last place is a deposit in a non-state bank (4%). 26% of respondents had no savings in both 2023 and 2022.

Youth savings goals have changed over the year. The share of those who save for unforeseen circumstances decreased from 37% to 33%, and those who save for small household appliances and gadgets – from 54% to 27%. The share of those who are saving for repairs has decreased by half (19%), and by 2.5 times – those who are saving money for education for themselves or their children (10%). In 2023, those who are saving money to move to another country appeared – 2%. The category of young people who saved for a future pension has disappeared.

Leonid Uvarchev