How Long Would Your Savings Last If Your Income Stopped?
Please note this blog post was published over 12 months ago and so may not include the most up-to-date information, for example where regulation around investing has changed.
If your income suddenly stopped, how long would it be before your savings dried up? Shockingly, a report by Legal & General has indicated that the average employee only has a month’s worth of savings to maintain their lifestyle.
The survey of 2,000 people also demonstrated that 26% of people would run out of their savings in a week or less.
This data highlights the issues we have previously raised in our Savings Gap research. Since 2013 we have undertaken a quarterly survey of the UK public to learn more about attitudes to saving. Our research is considered the best of its kind in the UK, with over 30,000 polled, and it shows that that only a minority of savers will have enough funds for a comfortable retirement, by their own definition.
Compounding the problem is an increasing reliance on personal debt. Our Managing Partner, David Harrison, recently spoke with the BBC about this issue. “Personal debt is the elephant in the room,” he said. “Consumer confidence and spending have been creeping up but there is growing concern that it is built on quicksand in the shape of rising individual debts. Underpinning this is easy access to debt, the costs of which are poorly understood.
“But this is not just about people splashing cash they don’t have. A big worry is the proportion of people needing debt just to get by. That’s a bubble waiting to burst. The cost of living is 2.7% higher today compared to a year ago, adding an extra £468 to household bills.”
How long would your savings last? Vote in our Twitter poll
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