New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that households saved 12.4%, or €1 in €8, of their disposable income in the fourth quarter of 2025.
This was below the 13% average since the start of 2023 and marked the lowest seasonally adjusted household saving rate since the 12% rate seen in the second quarter of 2024.
The CSO noted that the saving rate tends to be more variable in the fourth quater each year due to additional household spending at Christmas.
The provisional 2025 saving rate was 13.6%, similar to 2024 and higher than 2023, it added.
The lower saving rates were drived by increase in consumption by Irish housholds, which rose by 2%, while incomes remained unchanged.
Saving can add to a household's overall wealth in the form of buying new homes, growing bank deposits, pension savings, and paying off debt.
The CSO also said that today's results are preliminary and are subject to revision after the publication of the Institutional Sector Accounts for the fourth quarter release in the coming weeks.
Keith Butler, CEO of Ask Acorn, said that while today's CSO figures show that Irish households saved €2.5 billionn in the last three months of 2025, thousands of people are actually losing money by letting their hard-earned cash sit in low-interest deposit accounts.
He said that recent discussions about State-backed savings schemes could encourage more people to invest, and public provision is a starting point, but households need to actively plan and take advice to make their wealth work for them.
