Saving over the long term builds financial resilience, brings financial security, and means more money confidence. It can help people manage financial shocks and achieve long-term goals, such is the power of compound interest.  However, too many people realise these benefits too late.  What more can we do to encourage people to develop a positive savings habit?

The first step is to ensure that the right information and support is in place for customers. For example, Nationwide offers a free savings review in-branch to support customers in their savings journey, safe in the knowledge that all our branches will remain open until at least the start of 2028. What’s more, customers registered with our SavingsWatch service are informed of our latest and best savings rates and products, so their money works best for them, not us.

The second step is to recognise that savings goals and needs differ depending on your age and life stage.  Financial priorities change. For instance, those maximising ISA contributions are not necessarily the most affluent – often they are older and have built up savings over time. For them, their later life stage demands the safety and stability that cash ISAs provide. Contrast that with younger people, who may be more open to taking risks because they can see a longer-term horizon for their savings growth. Nationwide’s recent survey data shows that, among those with over £5,000 in savings, 40% of young people aged 18 – 39 who were not already investing were actively considering or definitely open to doing so.[1]

There is an opportunity to support these young people once they have met their shorter-term savings goals, and as they focus on longer-term goals. As the Government considers wider reforms to the savings landscape, it’s important that the needs of older savers who are focused on the certainty of cash savings are balanced with the interests of younger people starting out on their savings journey. A great place to start would be reform of the Lifetime ISA. Working with industry, a few changes could be made to simplify the Lifetime ISA for all parties and make it the go-to product for people starting out on their savings journey.

With so many benefits from long-term saving and investing, reform of the Lifetime ISA could inspire people to start saving earlier and help to shift the country’s savings culture.

[1] Research conducted by Yonder Consulting on behalf of Nationwide, August 2025