Majority of young Hungarians would last barely a few months without income

The index said that savings have recently become a focus. Last year's extreme inflation forced many households to go into emergency mode - meaning many households had to dip into their previously accumulated reserves - but last year was more positive, as slowing inflation and rising average wages pulled real wages into positive territory, allowing them to start replenishing their reserves.

The latest K&H Youth Index looked at how many people aged 19-29 - workers, students and other inactive people - have savings, how much they have and how long they have enough to save. The results are mixed.

The survey shows that many young people have no savings at all, with 43% of them having none in the last quarter of last year.

On the other hand, 57% of them have money saved, but there is a wide variation: 17% of them reported less than HUF 100,000, while 11% said they had HUF 100,000-249,000, the bank said.

Less than a quarter of young people, 23%, can show an amount of more than HUF 500,000, while 9% of them can show an amount of more than HUF 2 million.

If we include those with zero HUF in the calculation, the average amount saved is HUF 669,000.

Given the pattern of savings, it is no surprise that many young people would be able to live on their savings for a relatively short time if they had no income. The research shows that even 34% of those with savings could live for just one month without an income, 23% for up to three months and 17% for up to six months - meaning that the majority could not afford to live for more than half a year without an income. On the other side of the spectrum are the 10-10% who could finance their lives for up to 1 year or more.

This means that even among young people who are saving, only 37% can “see” beyond three months. This is an increase within the margin of error from 35% in the third quarter of last year, but well below the 44% recorded in the second quarter of last year," the K&H points out.

Over the more than ten years of the survey, starting from the end of 2012, on average just over 34% of young people had enough money in savings for more than three months. The peak was 47% at the end of 2016. The lowest rate, 27%, occurred between 2014 and the beginning of 2021.

The K&H Youth Index, commissioned by the K&H Foundation for a Healthy Society, examines the satisfaction and future expectations of young people aged 19-29, including housing, work, career opportunities, education, health and family. The sample composition represents the composition of the urban population aged 19-29 in Hungary by gender, age group, region, type of settlement, educational attainment and economic activity. A total of 300 respondents participated in the survey, with a maximum margin of error of +/- 5.7%. Data were collected between 30 October and 8 November 2024.

Cover photo (for illustration purposes only): Portfolio