"Financial guidance can be helpful for people of all ages to tackle these challenges, but while there are many free resources and support like Moneyhelper and Pension Credit, they are largely underutilised."
- Emma Byron, Managing Director, Legal & General Retirement Solutions
Households are tackling rising expenses by turning off the heating (48%), reducing their grocery spend (37%), and even driving their vehicles less (24%).
Over half of UK adults (56%) now feel they have done everything they can to save money but are still being forced into savings. Nearly a third (30%) no longer have a ‘savings buffer’ to cover unexpected costs.
More than 9 million potential homeowners (48% of all people planning to purchase a home) believe this goal will now need to be delayed with almost a fifth (18%) of this group expecting a delay of five years or more. An additional 12% of prospective homeowners now think they will never own a house due to greater financial pressures.
Parents who hoped to provide future financial support for their children are being forced to cut back or even scrap their plans with 39% of parents who planned to set aside a lump sum for their children being forced to delay this transaction.
The impact of the cost-of-living crisis even extends into retirement with 45% of people who dreamed of retirement anticipating that this will need to be put on hold. This is equivalent to 11 million people across the UK and includes 38% of people in the crucial decade before retirement who expect to delay retirement by at least a year, if not more. More than 1 in 10 (12%) think they will never retire.
However, despite the volume of those affected by the cost-of-living crisis, only 52% of UK adults have sought guidance or support to better understand how to tackle their financial situation. Only 3.9 million people (7%) have applied for independent financial advice whilst 19% have turned to price comparison websites.
In response to these statistics, Legal & General has recently launched the third season of its award-winning ‘Rewirement’ podcast, to give listeners the knowledge, understanding, and confidence to navigate and improve their financial situation.
This season is hosted by broadcaster Angellica Bell and explores topics ranging from how to buy your very first home to creating a sound financial future in your 20s. It will also cover how to balance financial security and family needs, financial priorities for the self-employed, managing the rises in the cost of living, and more.
Emma Byron, Managing Director, Legal & General Retirement Solutions has said:
“Rising living costs have been so significant that most UK households will have noticed a squeeze on their monthly budgets. Not only does this have a direct impact on people’s lifestyles, even though they are making every effort to cut back, but it has a knock-on effect on their lifelong goals such as owning a home or retiring comfortably.
We want to make it easier for people to find the right help and feel confident researching their options. Where people can afford it, independent financial advice can also be invaluable, especially when navigating more complicated financial situations, such as retirement. Seeking the right help now could head off difficulties later down the line.”
