The average worker has just 52 days of savings to see them through if they lost their job; the news comes as new figures reveal that the gap between pay rises and increases in the cost of living has hit a 20-year high.
Research from the Yorkshire Building Society reveals that average monthly outgoings are £1,445, while the average accessible savings are £2,474.
Whilst the average person would last 52 days on their savings if they lost their job, a third would only be able to last 11 days, with less than £500 in accessible savings. The worst affected groups are women (46 days), divorcees (35 days), and the 35-44s (39 days).
Tanya Jackson, corporate affairs manager at Yorkshire Building Society, commented: “It is extremely worrying to see that many Britons are ‘living on the edge’ and we therefore urge consumers to take a look at their protection needs in order to assess how they would cope financially if they were taken ill and whether they would benefit from the security that a protection scheme provides.”
In related news, figures from the Industrial Relations Services found the average wage increase in both public and private sectors is 3.2%. But the retail prices index measure of inflation stands at 4.6% – the largest gap recorded since October 1990. In further gloomy news, London ranked third in the most expensive cities listing by Mercer.
