A new survey shows why most Americans won't lock in higher savings returns, even when they want to
A new survey shows why most Americans won't lock in higher savings returns, even when they want to
For millions of Americans, the math on locked savings products is simple. You commit your money for a fixed period, and you get a guaranteed return that beats a regular savings account. But most people aren't doing it.
A new survey of 1,000 U.S. adults commissioned by Credit One Bank shows nearly half would consider a fixed-term savings product, yet most never actually open one. What's stopping them has less to do with financial literacy and more to do with a basic fear of losing access to their money when they need it most.
The findings point to a gap between what consumers say they want and what they're willing to do, and they suggest the financial industry may be missing what would actually move people to save more.
In this article, Credit One Bank explores who's worried, what's driving the hesitation and what could change the math.
Why most savers won't lock in their money
Ask Americans about fixed-term savings products like CDs, and interest rates rarely come up first. Access does.
The study found that a little over half of respondents (51.9%) named losing emergency access as their single biggest concern about locking up savings. Among people aged 30 to 45, that figure jumped to 67.4%.
That age group is often juggling mortgages, childcare costs and aging parents at the same time. For them, cash on hand functions as a buffer against an unpredictable month, which makes any product that limits access a hard sell.
The fear has roots in recent history. People who entered the workforce around 2008 watched emergency funds vanish in real time. Add a pandemic and a couple of inflation spikes on top of that, and keeping savings within reach starts to feel like a sound strategy.
Nearly one in three couldn't absorb a major surprise expense
Confidence in handling a financial shock varies sharply by income.
When asked how confident they were that they could cover a $50,000 unexpected expense without tapping locked savings, nearly 1 in 3 respondents (30%) said "not confident at all." For households earning between $25,000 and $50,000, that figure climbed to 40.6%.
For many of these households, the issue is less about reckless spending and more about not having the runway to take on extra risk, even the contained risk of a fixed-term product.
The pattern matches broader federal data. The Federal Reserve's most recent report on household economic well-being found that roughly 2 out of 3 of U.S. adults (63%) could cover a hypothetical $400 emergency expense in cash.
High earners and low earners aren't worried about the same things
The fears that dominate one income bracket barely register in another.
Among households earning over $100,000, 1 in 4 (25.3%) said their top concern about locked savings was rate risk: committing to today's rate and watching better ones appear later. For households earning under $25,000, only 4.3% named rate risk as a top concern.
Their question was more basic: If I need this money, can I get it?
That's two completely different savings psychologies inside the same product category. High earners are optimizing. Lower earners are protecting. Banks and financial educators that treat both groups as a single audience tend to miss half the room.
The one feature that could make locked savings more attractive
There's one finding from the survey that stands out for product designers.
Nearly 9 in 10 (89.1%) respondents said they'd be more interested in a locked savings product if it included one penalty-free emergency withdrawal. Of that group, 44.4% said they'd be "much more interested." Only 6.5% said it wouldn't change their interest at all.
That kind of near-universal agreement is rare in consumer research. The resistance to locked savings appears to be practical rather than philosophical, with most people pointing to the worst-case scenario of needing the money and getting hit with a penalty.
Take that scenario off the table, and the product becomes more attractive across nearly every demographic group surveyed.
For now, the gap between intention and action remains wide. The appetite for better savings tools is clearly there, even if the trust to actually use them hasn't caught up yet. For the financial institutions paying attention, the survey points to a clear path forward.
Methodology
The data comes from a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted via Pollfish. Participants answered questions about their savings habits, their emotional relationship with money, and their willingness to lock funds away in exchange for a guaranteed return. Responses were analyzed across age, gender, and household income brackets.
This story was produced by Credit One Bank and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
