Long ago, people were rewarded for saving. Banks contributed something known as “interest” to the amounts deposited in savings accounts.
OK, technically they still do, but you’d be forgiven for not noticing the tiny amounts added in a low-rate environment. The current average interest rate on savings accounts is 0.06 percent.
Anemic rates may not be a major reason why Americans don’t save enough, but there’s some evidence that better rewards could induce more people to save. Two approaches that seem to work: matching funds and prize-linked accounts.
In my latest for the Associated Press, could rewarding people for saving get them to save more?
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