Millions without financial safety net
Almost four million people in the UK will be unable to maintain their current lifestyle beyond February of next year if they had to live off their current "emergency" financial provisions, a new report has claimed.
The Financial Safety Net report, carried out for Scottish Provident, the insurer, outlines a number of worrying statistics which show many people's financial vulnerability and lack of protection against the financial ramifications of ill health.
The report includes details of a survey which shows that less than a fifth of people (17%) would rely on their savings to maintain their current standard of living should an emergency happen. Those individuals who would rely solely on their credit cards only expect to be able to fund their current standard of living for just five months - in addition to finding themselves in a state of rising personal debt.
The survey, which involved more than 2,000 online interviews, suggests that currently about a third of Britons (31%) do not have any form of emergency financial provisions - or "financial safety net" - in place at all and should they or the main breadwinner be diagnosed with a serious illness, disability or die they would have to drastically cut back their living costs. One in ten (10%) could even be forced to sell their house. Almost a quarter of Britons (23%) simply state they do not know what they would do if they suddenly had to maintain their current standard of living without the main source of income.
The report also outlines five "top tips" that advisers can share with clients to help them to create their own financial safety net.
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