Split deposits could help you reach your savings (and investment) goals

Key points:

• Split deposits are direct deposits of an employee’s paycheck, except the money goes into more than one account.
• Employees can pick the amount or percentage to deposit into each account.
• If offered by your employer, split deposits could help you achieve your savings goals.

According to Bankrate’s Annual Emergency Savings Report, more than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about having enough emergency savings to cover just a month’s worth of living expenses. Even worse, 57% of adults can’t afford a $1,000 emergency expense. In other words, too many of us are saving too little for our future. But did you know there’s a simple way to automatically set money aside for savings and even investments? Say hello to split deposit.

What is split deposit?

You may have wondered, “Can I split my direct deposit into two accounts?” Well, the answer is yes! Split deposit is the direct deposit of an employee’s paycheck issued by their employer. However, instead of the entire deposit going into one account, a specific amount or percentage of the employee’s pay is deposited into separate accounts.

The ability to split a paycheck into different accounts could be invaluable for those of us who don’t consistently transfer money to our savings or investment accounts. (Instead, we end up spending that money!) Think about it, set aside just $20 a week, and in a year, you’d have a tidy $1,000 emergency fund.

How to set up split deposit

If you think split deposit might help you achieve your savings or investment goals, talk to your employer’s payroll department about setting up a split deposit. The setup process may be as easy as setting up your original direct deposit, except you would:

• Enter account information for each deposit account, and
• Designate the amount or percentage you want to go to each account.

Direct Deposit vs. Split Deposit Example

The percentages you select may be different than the example above based on your financial situation. The bottom line is this – if you think split deposit could help you be a better saver, talk to your employer’s payroll department about this option.