Belgians are no longer the big savers they were before the 2008 financial crisis, with households now saving a smaller share of their income and increasingly favouring investment funds over bank deposits, according to an ING Belgium study published on Tuesday.
Last year, Belgian households saved 12.8% of their disposable income, below the Eurozone average of 14.7%. Their financial savings rate stood at just 4% of disposable income.
ING said most of the share of household income that is not spent now goes into property. That leaves relatively limited room for households to build up their financial wealth, says the study's author, ING economist Charlotte de Montpellier.
Eurozone's second highest household income rate
The financial savings rate measures the share of disposable income used to acquire financial assets or reduce debt after housing investment, such as mortgage borrowing, has been deducted.
Even so, Belgians still hold one of the highest levels of financial wealth in Europe. Average net financial wealth stands at €257,000 per household, the result of accumulation over several decades.
That places Belgium second in the Eurozone, behind Luxembourg with €271,000 per household, and just ahead of the Netherlands with €247,000. It is also well above Italy, Germany, France and Spain, while the Eurozone average is €166,000.
Bank deposits lose their dominance
European countries nevertheless remain far behind the United States. In 2025, average net financial wealth per US household reached about $899,000, more than three times the Belgian level after conversion.
The composition of that wealth also differs sharply. In the US, shares, funds and bonds account for half of financial wealth, compared with about 30% in Belgium, while cash and deposits make up 10% against 30% in Belgium. As a result, US households have been more exposed to rising markets.
Among assets that can be readily accessed, which make up 58% of Belgians’ financial wealth, bank deposits are losing their dominance. Deposits still accounted for 51% of the total last year, but investment funds kept gaining ground and reached 34%, compared with 23% in the Eurozone.
More in investment funds
Listed shares accounted for 9% and bonds for 5%. According to de Montpellier, this means Belgian financial wealth is now more investment-oriented than in many other countries.
She said Belgian households now hold relatively fewer deposits and are more heavily invested in funds, marking a break with the previous decade. Since 2025, the balance has reversed.
Belgians now put an average of €5.6 billion per quarter into investment funds, compared with €3.5 billion into deposits. Funds therefore attract 60% more money than bank accounts.
ING said this shift could have major long-term effects. If Belgians had invested a quarter of new deposits into the funds they actually held over the past 30 years, their financial wealth would have been €83.3 billion higher, equivalent to 13% of Belgium's GDP.
If that money had instead been invested in listed shares, financial wealth would have been €121.9 billion higher, or 19% of GDP.
At present, 43% of Belgians already invest in shares, bonds, funds or ETFs, above the European average. A further 24% say they could invest in future.
Strong investment potential among the young
The potential is especially strong among younger people. Nearly 46% of adults aged 18 to 24 can be considered potential investors, the study found.
Even in what ING described as a relatively mature market, several barriers remain. The main obstacle is lack of knowledge, ahead of risk aversion and taxation.
More than six in 10 potential investors said they did not know enough about investing, while 54% said they are uncomfortable with taking risks.
One in five Belgians who might otherwise invest said they had been put off by tax rules, a higher proportion than in the other countries surveyed.
