Research Methodology
Full methodology details can be found in the full report available here.
In order to establish an accurate and up-to-date profile for ordinary UK adults and reflect trends in the profile of UK adults through 2009 and 2010, researchers drew upon a range of sources including the British Household Panel Study, the DWP Financial Resources Survey (FRS), and the HM Revenue & Customs Marketable Wealth data.
Based on this profile, a sample of 1,300 people deemed to be fully representative of UK adult population, up to and including the 95th percentile of savings wealth, is selected on a monthly basis by PureProfile, a leading online quantitative research panel. This sample includes approximately 1000 savers (approx 25 per cent of UK population do not have savings). In order to prevent any time discrepancy, the sample is interviewed over the same seven day period beginning in the last week of every calendar month. The sample is asked an identical standard series of tracking questions every month. These tracking questions commenced in January 2009 and are run on a monthly basis. Quotas are continually monitored and adjusted to take account of any changes in the profile of UK savers, using FRS and the quarterly nationally representative waves of the ING Consumer Savings Monitor research.
The figures are published quarterly and are based upon ‘three month’ rolling averages. Monthly and quarterly figures are centred on the first day of the final month in that quarter in question (e.g. our March, or Q1 figures, are ‘centered’ on March 1st – an average of samples collected Jan 27th to Feb 4th, Feb 25th to March 4th, and March 27th to April 4th).