Two-thirds of Australians with retail bank savings accounts have never changed their accounts, despite the opportunity to earn more interest with another product or ADI.
Research commissioned by comparison site Mozo and conducted by Researchify, which surveyed 2554 consumers, found that 69 per cent of adult Australians have never switched savings accounts.
The survey also found that the median amount of savings is just A$2,000, while the average is $22,586.
Around 15 per cent of respondents said they have put their savings goals on hold in response to higher living expenses.
Among those actively saving, 42 per cent are putting money away for a holiday. Other goals include building an emergency fund and saving for a car, renewable energy home upgrades and renovations.
Mozo personal finance expert Rachel Wastell said: “It’s recommended that you have three months of expenses in savings for emergencies, which is around $15,000. But 75 per cent of savers have less than that.”
Consumers who switched savings accounts in the past 12 months reported an average rate increase of 1 percentage point.
The Mozo survey follows an ACCC report in December, which said consumers are missing out on earning higher interest on their savings due to barriers to searching for and switching between retail deposit products.
The ACCC recommended that banks be required to tell customers when they change rates and prompt them to consider switching to a better rate.
It also recommended that banks be required to alert their customers if they are about to lose their entitlement to bonus interest, for example by withdrawing too much or too often in a given month.