diff --git a/git-commit.sh b/git-commit.sh
index 7e50cf399b..22c4ce86c3 100755
--- a/git-commit.sh
+++ b/git-commit.sh
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ THIS_INDEX="$GIT_DIR/index"
 NEXT_INDEX="$GIT_DIR/next-index$$"
 rm -f "$NEXT_INDEX"
 save_index () {
-	cp "$THIS_INDEX" "$NEXT_INDEX"
+	cp -p "$THIS_INDEX" "$NEXT_INDEX"
 }
 
 report () {