Yeah, a person could distinguish them this way, but you're using the passive voice. Who habitually uses the words in this manner consistently, in what contexts?

It's not that saving pays less than investing; it's that it's paying almost nothing right now. Savings account interest rates are terrible, which is very frustrating if you want to have some cash reserves.

I'm not going to put my 6 month emergency fund or the downpayment for my future house into stocks and ETFs; they're too risky. It hurts to keep it in a savings account paying less than 1% though, which is the alternative.

> "saving" pays less than "investing"

It does, except for when cash performs better than equities (like during a bear market).