A dramatic fall in the level of savings in the UK has been highlighted by research from Sainsbury’s Bank.

Savings have dropped by 20% among 3.74 million people in the UK over the past year, according to Sainsbury’s, with 37% of those polled claiming to be unable to save anything at all. Excluding pension contributions, those UK adults that are saving are able to stash an average of 5.9% of their gross income each month.

Saving difficulties seems to be hitting younger and older age groups the hardest, with 43% of those aged under 24 years old and 41% of those aged 65 or more unable to save anything.

Approximately 6% of those polled are currently saving more now than a year ago, with 16% saving less. The latter cite the increasing cost of living (47%), changes in personal circumstances (16%) and personal debts (14%) as the main reasons.

Neil Cameron, savings manager at Sainsbury’s Finance, advised people to ensure they have an emergency fund set aside, at the very least. “Recommendations vary from saving 10% or more of your salary to having at least three months’ salary readily available,” he continued. “For those whose personal circumstances and the rising cost of living are making it difficult to save it’s important to pick an account that provides a consistently attractive return so that your savings are working their hardest for you.”

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