Covid-19 caused financial uncertainty for many people across the UK, however Brits have not been hit by the urge to engage with their finances, according to research from MetLife UK.
The insurance firm surveyed 2,000 Brits and found just 27% were prompted by covid to seek financial advice.
The study revealed that the reasons for not seeking financial advice differ greatly, as 38% don’t intend to, 5% can’t afford to, 9% haven’t decided yet and 13% haven’t yet but might have to in the future.
Help
The insurer also asked respondents who they turn to for financial advice.
While nearly a quarter (24%) would turn to the bank, over a fifth (22%) would go to a financial adviser and 21% a mortgage adviser/broker.
The highest percentage of all, nearly a third (29%) of people admit to turning to financial experts such as Martin Lewis for their financial needs.
Some 21% would go online and look at news sources for their advice, but just 4% would listen to social media influencers.
Those around us also have an important role to play as 17% would go to their family and/or friends for financial advice, 6% look to their work colleagues for guidance, while just 3% would turn to their children or grandchildren.
Seek advice
Rich Horner, head of individual protection at MetLife, said: “The pandemic has put many people’s finances in an unexpectedly difficult position and, while some have been able to save more in lockdown, many others have been faced with job losses, falls in income and hardship.
“Financial advice can make a big difference to how people think about their futures. It can help them better understand how to protect what is most important to them via valuable insurance policies, as well as helping to put plans in place for the future by developing a savings and investment strategy.
“But there are still a number of factors that are standing in people’s way. While putting off making that first appointment is not new, it can be detrimental to people’s finances for the long term.
“The sooner you seek financial advice the earlier you can start putting a plan together for your future goals and ensure you have the right protections in place should the unexpected happen. If the last year has taught us anything, it is just how unpredictable life can be.”
Pension updates
In similar news, Canada Life surveyed over 2,000 UK adults found that over the past 12 months two-thirds (67%) have not logged into their pension online, with this figure rising to 78% for those aged over 55.
People are still not engaging with their pension, despite many saying they have paid closer attention to their finances since the global pandemic began.
In addition, 56% of adults say they haven’t received a pension statement that they read.
Those who have not logged into their pension in the past 12 months were not interested in doing this (16%), didn’t know how to access their pension online (15%), while 9% found it too complicated.
Since the start of the pandemic, 62% adults have reviewed or made changes to their finances. Leading the way are 18-34-year-olds with 72% reviewing or taking action.
‘Alarming fact’
Andrew Tully, technical director at Canada Life, said: “The uncertainty caused by the pandemic has prompted people to pay more attention to their finances, but a major challenge still remains with pension engagement.
“Despite auto-enrolment changing the face of the pension ecosystem, not enough people are reviewing their pension and taking the relevant action to ensure they are in the best possible position when approaching or in retirement.
“This is amplified by the alarming fact that a significant number of people aren’t aware that they can log into their pension online and get at minimum, a basic sense of how much they have saved.
“It is clear that as an industry, we need to do more to make financial management as easy as possible. Many people find the process of reviewing a pension and taking action a daunting prospect; we encourage them to engage with an expert financial adviser to make this feel less of a burden.”
