In Quarter 4 (Q4) 2025, the seasonally adjusted household saving rate was 12.4%, or €1 in €8, of household disposable income.
This saving rate was down from a revised 14.2% in Q3 2025, and below the average of 13.0% since the start of 2023.
After adjustments for seasonal patterns, Irish household consumption increased (+2.0%) from Q3 2025 while incomes were flat (-0.1%), leading to the lower saving rate.
Household saving was 12.4% in October, November and December (Q4) 2025, compared with a revised 14.2% in Q3 2025 (current price seasonally adjusted). As Figure 1 shows, this is lower than the average level since the start of 2023. As the ratio depends on two larger aggregates (Total Disposable Income and Final Consumption Expenditure), it is liable to change each quarter.
Household saving can be added to wealth as real assets (such as new homes), or financial assets (such as deposits), or as paying off liabilities (such as mortgage debt). In Q4 2025, before adjusting for seasonality or inflation, households saved €2.5bn. Investment in dwellings and improvements (most of which was by households) was €6.25bn. Additions to pension funds (D.8) were almost €1bn. A revised and more detailed household saving estimate from the non-financial accounts will be published by the CSO in the coming weeks. A quarterly breakdown of changes in financial assets and liabilities will be published by the Central Bank.
In Q4 2025 households spending on goods and services was €42.9bn, an increase of 9.6% on the third quarter of 2025, before price or seasonal adjustments. When seasonal factors are taken into account, final consumption of households increased by 2.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025. When the effect of price changes is also removed, the volume of consumption increased by 0.9%. The changes in consumption before and after price and seasonal adjustment are shown in Figure 2.
"Household Consumption" and "Individual Consumption Expenditure" in this release both mean Final Consumption Expenditure (FCE) of Households (code P.3 in the European System of Accounts). This is less than the item "Personal Consumption Expenditure" in the Quarterly National Accounts, which includes both FCE of households and Purchased Market Production funded by Social Transfers in Kind from Government (code D.632). Therefore, the changes in household Individual Consumption Expenditure in this release differ from those reported in the Quarterly National Accounts.
FCE at constant prices is deflated based on price changes for households resident here, including expenditure by Irish residents when they go abroad, but excluding expenditure by foreign tourists here in Ireland. This differs from the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes expenditure by Irish residents abroad and includes expenditure of foreign tourists within Ireland.
Total Disposable Income (TDI) of households was €45.3bn in the quarter before adjustment. After adjustment for seasonal factors, this was flat compared to the third quarter of 2025. After adjustment for price as well as seasonal factors, income was also flat from Q3 2025. The changes in TDI before and after price and seasonal adjustment are shown in Figure 3.
The largest component of household income is Compensation of Employees (CoE): unadjusted CoE decreased 1.1% from Q3 2025 and made up €39bn of the €45bn TDI in the fourth quarter. In addition to wages, TDI also includes other income such as self-employed earnings, interest and dividends received and social benefits (such as Child Benefit), but is after deduction of income taxes, social contributions (such as PRSI) and interest paid. More detail will be published in the Institutional Sector Accounts release next month.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (16 March 2026) published Household Saving Quarter 4 (Q4) 2025.
Commenting on the release, Mark Manto, Statistician in the National Accounts Analysis & Globalisation Division, said: "Households saved 12.4%, or €1 in €8, of their disposable income in October, November, and December (Q4) 2025, which was below the 13.0% average since the start of 2023. This is the lowest seasonally adjusted household saving rate since the 12.0% rate of Q2 2024. The saving rate tends to be more variable in Q4 each year due to additional household spending at Christmas. The provisional 2025 saving rate was 13.6%, similar to 2024 and higher than 2023.
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 decrease in the seasonally adjusted household saving rate from Q3 2025 was due to a combination of a flat level of household income combined with an increase in spending on final consumption.
Today's results are preliminary and are subject to revision after the publication of the Institutional Sector Accounts for Q4 2025 release in the coming weeks."