News release
June 09, 2025
Most Americans know they should save this summer but remain complacent.
VALLEY FORGE, PA (June 9, 2025)— It’s a smart saver’s summer, according to Vanguard’s new consumer survey, which found that 71% of Americans plan to shift their savings approach this summer to prioritize emergency savings and flexibility. But despite these intentions, Americans see obstacles to saving, citing time (28%), feeling like they don’t have enough money to save (28%) and not knowing where to start (24%) as the top reasons for not making a change.
“There is a clear desire to save, but plans don’t always translate to action since many consider creating a savings strategy to be daunting,” said Matt Benchener, Managing Director of Vanguard’s Personal Investor business. “Saving is essential to overall financial well-being, so it’s crucial to tackle the actual and perceived barriers to saving. One way to do this is to save with intention by leveraging a high-yielding savings vehicle, like Vanguard’s Cash Plus Account,1 which allows Americans to earn more than eight times the average interest of a traditional bank savings account.”
According to the survey, Americans feel weary about their spending and savings habits this summer.
Despite these fears, nearly half of those surveyed keep savings in traditional bank savings accounts, which on average yield only .42%1 as of the date of this article, according to the FDIC.
“It’s hard to make a change, but it’s important to start somewhere,” said Kate Byrne, Head of Vanguard Cash Plus Distribution. “There is no minimum amount needed to begin saving, so you should make sure that for every dollar saved, you are earning the returns you deserve by leveraging a high-yielding savings vehicle.”
Vanguard’s Cash Plus Account is currently yielding 3.65% APY as of the date of this article, more than eight times a traditional bank savings account.1 In addition to a better yield, Cash Plus offers FDIC coverage,2 easy access to account and routing numbers for bill pay and direct deposit, connectivity to payment apps like PayPal and Venmo, and no minimum balance requirements. Along with Cash Plus, Vanguard also offers a full suite of liquidity solutions including money market and ultra-short-term bond funds. For more information on Cash Plus, visit vanguard.com/cashplus.
Survey methodology
The Cash Plus Survey was fielded by Big Village among a representative sample of 1,009 U.S. adults 18 years of age and older. This survey was live on April 23, 2025. Quota sampling is used to collect a nationwide sample of respondents who are weighted by gender, age, region, race/ethnicity, and education to mirror the demographical composition of the U.S. population using Current Population Survey proportions.
1 The Cash Plus sweep program APY (annual percentage yield) is 3.65% effective May 16, 2025. The APY will vary and may change at any time. APY is current as of the date of this publication. Current APY is available at vanguard.com. Source for average bank savings yield of .42%: FDIC National Rate Caps as of May 19, 2025. There may be other material differences between these products that must be considered prior to investing.
2 Bank sweep program balances are held at one or more Program Banks, earn a variable rate of interest, and are not securities covered by SIPC. They are not cash balances held by Vanguard Brokerage Services (VBS), a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation (VMC); VMC is not a bank. Balances are eligible for FDIC insurance subject to applicable limits. See the list of participating Program Banks.
Notes:
The Vanguard Cash Plus account is a brokerage account offered by Vanguard Brokerage Services, a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation, member FINRA and SIPC. Under the Sweep Program, Eligible Balances swept to Program Banks are not securities: They are not covered by SIPC but are eligible for FDIC insurance, subject to applicable limits. Money market funds held in the account are not guaranteed or insured by the FDIC but are securities eligible for SIPC coverage. See the Vanguard Bank Sweep Products Terms of Use and Program Bank list on vanguard.com for more information.
There may be low fees for certain types of transactions, such as wire transfers and account closure and full transfer out fee. See the Vanguard Brokerage Services commission and fee schedules for details and exclusions.
Your account may be subject to restrictions intended to help prevent fraud. Transactions may be subject to daily limits and holding periods of generally four (4) business days or up to seven (7) calendar days in certain circumstances. For new accounts, cash and check deposits are generally subject to an initial hold of up to 20 days, although the hold may last up to 60 days in certain circumstances. During this time, you may invest your deposited funds; however, cash deposits may only be returned to the bank account from which they were received. After the initial hold period ends, your funds will be fully available for transfer or withdrawal.
For more information about Vanguard funds, visit vanguard.com to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.
All investing is subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. Bond funds are subject to the risk that an issuer will fail to make payments on time, and that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates or negative perceptions of an issuer's ability to make payments.
Bank savings accounts offer different services and features than a Vanguard Cash Plus Account. For example, savings accounts often offer features like overdraft protection, ATM access, bill pay services and other conveniences that Cash Plus Accounts do not offer. Cash Plus Accounts allow you to hold certain securities that bank savings accounts cannot hold. In addition, Cash Plus Accounts are subject to fraud prevention restrictions such as holding periods and transaction limits, which may not apply to a bank savings account. There may be other differences between these products that you may want to consider before choosing which option is best for you.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor of the Vanguard Funds.