MANILA – January 15, 2014 – Health issues and unexpected household emergencies are top priorities for Filipinos when it comes to active saving, or investing now rather than in the future.
A new study by Nielsen revealed that over half of Filipino active savers (54 percent) are presently engaged in saving for health-related issues. Respondents said that they use different strategies in saving for health issues, saving through local bank accounts, life insurance, government-initiated retirement schemes, provident fund and saving schemes, and investment-linked insurance policies.
“The saying, “health is wealth” rings true for Filipino consumers. The value that they put on health is clearly underlined by the fact that consumers tend to actively save now in order to fund their health care rather than later. Filipino consumers are not only saving the traditional way through banks but are taking a more diversified approach to better prepare for health expenses,” said Stuart Jamieson, Nielsen Philippines managing director.
Aside from health, 51 percent of Filipino respondents also actively save for unexpected household emergencies, using different investment strategies such as cash, saving plans, whole life insurance, company pension and government-initiated scheme, provident fund, and savings or investment schemes.
The survey also revealed that 42 percent are actively saving to prepare for loss of job or income, 38 percent are actively saving for higher education, and 37 percent are doing so for their children’s future.
The Nielsen Global Survey of Saving and Investment Strategies polled more than 30,000 Internet respondents in 60 countries to evaluate how consumers around the world are preparing for current and future financial expenses. Nielsen evaluated 16 different saving and investment strategies used to fund a range of 14 long- and short-term financial goals.
According to Nielsen, 83 percent of Filipino respondents believe that they will achieve all their financial goals for the future, but of those, only 30 percent are confident that their current planning will be enough. Meanwhile, over half (53 percent) say that they need to monitor and adjust their investments closely from time to time to best meet their financial expectations.
