Background Notes

Data in this Publication

This publication provides a timely estimate of Household Saving based on the data available shortly after the Quarterly National Accounts are published. The full Household accounts, including saving, are published quarterly as part of the Non-Financial Institutional Sector Accounts, usually around three months after the quarter ends. 

Variation in the Saving Rate is largely owing to its two largest components: Household Final Consumption Expenditure (P.3) and Compensation of Employees (D.1), and these two variables are part of the Quarterly National Accounts. Thus, we are able to provide this estimate of the Rate with reasonable accuracy at this time. The final estimate is released as part of the usual Sector Accounts, and the PxStat table ISQ04 is updated at that time.

Derived Seasonally Adjusted Household Saving Ratio

Seasonally adjusted estimates of Household Saving are compiled using the indirect seasonal adjustment approach. Under this approach the two main aggregates, Household Total Disposable Income (B.6g + D.8) and Final Consumption Expenditure of Households (P.3), are independently adjusted. The derived saving is the difference between these two adjusted series of Household Disposable Income and Final Expenditure of Households. This method for estimating the seasonally adjusted value for a small net residual of two large aggregates, such as Household Saving, is considered to be a more appropriate estimation procedure.

The use of these savings either for financial investment or debt reduction is not recorded in these accounts but is recorded in the financial account (see Quarterly Financial Accounts published by the Central Bank of Ireland and for annual integrated financial and non financial accounts).

Household Total Disposable Income

As well as Compensation of Employees, Household Disposable Income is made up of:

• Self-employed income (gross mixed income) and imputed rent received by home owners (gross operating surplus)
• Interest received on deposits and bonds, less interest paid on mortgages and other loans
• Dividends and other income on financial assets
• Social benefits in cash (such as Child Benefit) less social contributions paid (such as Pay Related Social Insurance)
• Less income taxes such as PAYE
• Miscellaneous transfers such as remittances to/from abroad
• An adjustment for the change in pension entitlements

Real Household Total Disposable Income

Real Total Disposable Income (TDI) is estimated by first deflating the current price estimate of TDI. The deflator used is the implicit deflator of household consumption: that is, the ratio of current price to constant price Individual Consumption Expenditure (P.31). This price-adjusted TDI is then seasonally adjusted using an X-13 model, the model used for seasonal adjustment in the rest of the accounts. 

The real TDI is published for the first time in the accounts for Quarter 3 of 2022 and feedback on this development is welcome.

Household Sector

This publication is the saving rate for S.1M which is made up of Households (S.14) and Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households (S.15). S.14 accounts are the economic transactions of people in their capacity as consumers, employees, self-employed workers, pensioners and recipients of other income and transfers. S.15 consists of non-profit institutions such as charities and non-commercial agencies not owned by the government, such as sports clubs and churches. In practice, S.15 is much smaller than S.14 and is closely intertwined with it. There are no separate accounts for the two sectors quarterly.