Funcas estimates that the savings rate of Spanish households will decrease from 10.9% this year to 9.9% of gross disposable income by 2028. Inflation is pushing families to spend part of their reserves.
According to elEconomista, inflation is changing the spending habits of Spanish households, which are increasingly relying on savings to continue consuming. Funcas forecasts that the savings rate will drop from 10.9% of gross disposable income this year to 9.9% in 2028.
The Bank of Spain placed the rate at 11% in the second quarter of 2026, in its macroeconomic forecasts from October. The agency notes that the level remains high and above its historical average:
“it remains at elevated levels significantly above its historical average”
According to BBVA Research, an average household in Spain saved 19% of its income in 2024, although the entity warns that there is considerable heterogeneity among families.
Funcas expects savings to continue declining as families will slightly increase their consumption spending above the growth of their income. The entity warns that any deviation from this path would have a significant impact on the economic situation.
The Institute of Economic Studies (IEE) had already warned before the summer that lower-income households are the ones that rely most on savings to consume. Private consumption will grow by 3% this year, compared to 3.1% in 2025, although Funcas predicts that it will advance at a slower pace than in the 2023-2025 triennium.
The decline in savings is not exclusive to Spain. The European Central Bank (ECB) placed the gross savings rate of the eurozone at 14.4% in the second quarter of 2026, two-tenths lower than in the first quarter. The OECD predicts that private consumption in the eurozone will remain stable due to employment and a slight reduction in the savings rate.
In Spain, the CPI is above the European average: in September, the difference with the harmonised indicator was 1.2 points, compared to 1.3 in August.
Funcas also estimates the national savings rate, which measures the percentage of GDP allocated to savings. It closed 2025 at 25% and will drop to 24.1% in 2026, 24% in 2027, and 23.6% in 2028.
By destination, the Bank of Spain indicates in its Financial Competence Survey that 68% of savings goes into a bank account. That survey, conducted in 2021, also found that 40% of respondents kept part of their reserves in cash. Pension plans are the option for 3% of low-income families and 22% of high-income families.
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