Households

A household's stage of life shapes its pattern of spending, saving and borrowing.

• Young adults often have lower incomes but rising needs (housing, starting a family), so they tend to borrow (student loans, mortgages) and save little.
• Middle-aged people usually earn their peak incomes, so they can save the most, building up funds for retirement.
• Older / retired people often draw down their savings rather than add to them, spending what they put aside during their working lives.

So a country with an ageing population may see overall saving fall, because more people are using their savings rather than adding to them.