Indians are not money savers, says survey

Ahmedabad, Apr 12: A National Council for Applied Economic Research survey, sponsored by The Max New York Life (MNYL), has shattered the myth that Indians, particularly the Gujarati community, are money savers and wealth generators.

The survey, which covered 63,000 samples from across the country, has found that an overwhelming majority of Indians are at risk if they lose the breadwinner or the major source of their household income (income from rent, business, agriculture and others), MNYL vice president Rajender Sud said yesterday, while revealing the findings of the survey.

Almost 96 per cent of the households feel they cannot survive for over a year on their current savings in case of loss of major source of the household income, the survey report said.

Secondly, there is widespread misplaced financial optimism amongst Indians (54 per cent). The ''nothing will happen to me'' syndrome stops them from going in for an adequate life cover, Mr Sud said.

Thirdly, while Indians are great savers, they do not save wisely. Around 81 per cent of Indian households save, but the money they save is either lying in their homes, or in the banks, Mr Sud said adding that majority of Indians do not save for the long-term.

Lastly, while awareness on life insurance is high (78 per cent of Indian households are aware of life insurance), ownership of policies is low. Only one-fourth of the Indian households own a life insurance policy.

About Gujarat, Mr Sud said 96 per cent households in the state and 98 per cent households in Ahmedabad are financially at risk on loss of the breadwinner.

UNI