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Media centre /
Press releaseMOVING HOME LEAVES SAVERS OUT OF POCKET12 May 2005
An increasing number of Britons are leaving behind their hard-earned money every time they move home, according to research from National Savings and Investments (NS&I), the government-backed savings provider. The growing number of people who are failing to give financial providers their new address when moving home are at risk of losing touch with their savings and investments. This worsening problem has been identified as Worsening problem The researchı has found that one in four people (26%) who moved home These people could, potentially, have lost touch with an average of £11,770 each in savings and investments (based on the total value of savings on deposit in the UK and the percentage of people who moved home in the past 12 months)². Karen Jones, NS&I marketing director, said: “Moving home can be a particularly stressful time but it’s worrying to see that so many people are still forgetting to give their new address to their financial providers when they move. Without this vital information we cannot keep in touch with customers. And in the long term, this can result in significant amounts of people’s hard earned savings becoming lost or forgotten. “The good news is if you think this has happened to you, you can use our free tracing service on the NS&I website at www.nsandi.com to locate any savings or investments you might have with us.” Major culprits The research reveals that people aged 25-34 are the major culprits with almost half (40%) forgetting to inform financial providers of their new address. And men are worse than women with almost a third (30%) failing to keep track of their savings (up from 22% last year), compared to a fifth (20%) of women (up from 11% last year). Single people (30%) are more likely to forget than those who are married or co-habiting (24%) or those who are widowed, separated or divorced (21%), suggesting a carefree attitude among singletons. Young leading the way Surprisingly, there has been a significant improvement among young people when it comes to informing financial providers of their change of address, with only 18% of 16-24 year-olds forgetting, compared to a almost a third (30%) a year ago. This age group is particularly savvy when it comes to looking after finances - as revealed in NS&I’s Winter Savings Survey in March 2005 – where they topped the country’s best savers’ league, putting aside 9.25% of their income on average every month. Regional findings Of those interviewed, people in the South East are the worst when it comes to keeping tabs on their savings with 51% - almost double the national average (26%) - forgetting to pass on new address details to financial providers. And those living in the North East and Greater London don’t fare much better (41% and 39%). In comparison, people in the South West and North West of the country are more astute when it comes to financial matters with only 2% and 6% forgetting to update their details. Childhood savings According to the research, one in seven adults (15%) believes they have lost touch with savings from their childhood. Premium Bonds - a popular gift bought for children by parents and grandparents as an investment for their child’s future – currently have 400,000 prizes worth £23 million remaining unclaimed. Customers who own Premium Bonds and think they may have any unclaimed prizes can use the Premium Bond prize checker on the NS&I website at www.nsandi.com – customers simply need to enter their Premium Bond holder’s number. Free tracing service NS&I provides a free tracing service for customers to locate any lost or forgotten funds, and there is no time limit on claiming back any money. The money remains the property of the customer – and it remains 100% safe. Reunited with £20 million Since the launch of its free tracing service in November 2001, NS&I has reunited 18,500 people across the world with approximately £20 million of savings and investments – equivalent to £1,081 per successful trace, an increase of 13% on the previous year, when the average amount traced was £956. In the last year alone, the tracing service has reunited over 6,300 people with more than £8 million of forgotten savings and investments. The average value of the amount traced for customers each month in the past year has increased from £1,373 in April 2004 to £1,477 in April 2005. Unclaimed NS&I assets
Research results: the statistics When asked, “When you moved home, did you forget to forward your new address to an organisation that you have savings, investments or another financial product with?”, the responses were as follows: Yes - All respondents: 26% (men: 30%, women: 20%) Total value of Premium Bonds and Savings Certificates traced, since November 2001
Free tracing services The NS&I tracing service form, available from 0845 964 5000 or at www.nsandi.com needs to be completed in as much detail as possible, including previous addresses, and returned to NS&I. The customer will be contacted once the trace has been completed, usually within one month. As well as NS&I offering a free tracing service, the British Bankers Association and the Building Societies Association also provide completely free tracing services enabling customers to locate their lost or forgotten funds. NS&I does not endorse any companies which charge customers a fee to search for lost or forgotten money on their behalf. Notes to Editors 1. Research carried out by TNS PhoneBus, 15 – 17 April 2005 among 1,006 adults aged 16+. Respondents were asked “Have you moved home in the last 12 months?”, “When you moved home, did you forget to forward your new address to any organisation that you have savings, investments or another financial product with?”, “Do you think you have lost touch with savings you had from when you were a child?”. Previous research carried out by TNS PhoneBus, 7-9 May 2004 among 1,013 adults aged 16+. 2. Calculations based on figures from ONS Financial Statistic on the amount of savings on deposit in the country which is £876.2 billion, averaged out by age group (using figures from NOP Research Group Ltd on the % of savings held by each age group) and the number of people who moved home in the last year and had forgotten to tell their financial providers their new address (TNS PhoneBus, 15 – 17 April 2005). 3. For details of tracing service case studies and photographs in hi-res jpeg format, contact the NS&I Media and PR team. 4. British Bankers Association dormant account scheme: www.bba.org.uk. Building Societies Association dormant account scheme: www.bsa.org.uk NS&I Media Team Rabia Bapu-Jones 020 7348 9449
Media team The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.
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