People who struggle to put money aside into savings accounts could benefit from setting up a standing order, an expert believes.

Martin Rutland, spokesman for ING Direct, explained that this encourages people to save as the money is moved before they realise it is there.

If they were not aware they had the money in the first place, they are less likely to miss it, he noted.

Mr Rutland continued: "I think that savings are under pressure because everyone gets their wage packet and they have to make the decision of how they are going to afford the rising cost of living."

There is also further financial pressure coming from paying off credit cards, leaving individuals with less cash to set aside in savings accounts.

The expert suggested that savings figures in the UK are often skewed as the wealthy top five per cent of the country has over a third of the total savings wealth.