Be Prepared: Japanese Households Saving for Retirement, Illness, or Disaster

A public opinion survey on household financial behavior conducted in 2018 shows that the average amount of financial assets held by Japanese households with two members or more is ¥11.51 million, which is around the same level as in 2017. This figure comprised ¥5.05 million in savings, ¥3.82 million in insurance, ¥2.21 million in securities (stocks, bonds), and ¥0.43 million in other financial instruments.

The survey covered 8,000 households nationwide and was conducted in June and July 2018, with a valid response rate of 44.7%. The average annual net income of the surveyed households was ¥5.19 million, up from ¥4.87 million the previous year.

Among respondents, 1.6% owned no financial instruments. For households with financial assets, when asked to compare those assets to the previous year, 28.4% answered that there had been a decrease, while 22.2% responded that they had increased.

Of households that saw their assets rise, 40.4% was due to increased regular income, 27.9% had increased the proportion of savings from their regular income, and 14.5% had higher appraised value due to a rise in stocks and bond prices. In contrast, reasons for a decrease included 39.1% depleting their savings due to a drop in regular income and 34.7% had expenditures from purchasing durable consumer goods (such as cars, furniture, or home appliances). A large number, 30.4%, responded that they had expenditures for children’s education fees or wedding costs.

When asked the reasons for holding financial assets, the two overwhelming responses were for living funds in retirement at 65.6% and preparation for sickness and disasters at 61.1%, reflecting a desire by people to reduce their concerns for the future, even if just a little.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)