Consumer sentiment on saving money dipped in April to its lowest level in six months, coinciding with protracted efforts at government formation.

When it came to feeling positive about putting money aside, those aged under-50 recorded a decline of 46 per cent on March.

Those aged over-50 who felt good about the amount of surplus cash they could save also dropped.

Overall, the Nationwide UK (Ireland) Savings Index recorded a decline of 113 points from 131 in March.

"At the moment savers don't have a great deal of visibility in terms of what might lie ahead for government policy," said Brendan Synnott, managing director at Nationwide.

“It will be interesting to see how the index responds in the coming months when the shape of government policy becomes clearer.”

The savings environment index asks people if they feel now is a good time to save and whether government policies encourage them to.

The biggest drop among those who believed the government’s policies encouraged them to save was amongst the over-50s age group. Some 38.4 per cent in that category felt negative in that respect.

For those who said they would use surplus cash to pay off debts, including their mortgage, the proportion increased to 44.6 per cent in April from 40.1 per cent the previous month.

A further 10.9 per cent of those surveyed said they would spend the extra cash, compared to 15 per cent who said the same thing in March. Eight per cent of people said they would invest it.

The proportion of people who said they would choose to save extra money increased to 36.5 per cent in April from 34.1 per cent in March.