Quarter of adults unable to pay unexpected expenses as experts warn ‘lives hanging in the balance’

Earlier this month, the Office for National Statistics revealed that 25% of UK adults believe they won’t be able to foot the bill of a necessary £850 expense if they don’t have time to save up for it. Additionally, the same release revealed one in eight adults strongly disagreed or disagreed that their household income is enough to cover their minimum basic living needs.

Reacting to the staggering statistics, Patricia McGirr of the Repossession Rescue Network warned Newspage that these figures are no longer simply showing a general picture: “It's about lives hanging in the balance.” She also dubbed these figures a “reminder” about the millions of households that are “one unexpected bill away from financial disaster”.

She also pointed out the mental health crisis that stems from situations like this and could levy more pressure on the overburdened NHS. She urged: “The stress of not being able to meet basic living needs is pushing people to their breaking point, and yet we're not doing nearly enough to address the underlying issues.”

Director & Chartered Financial Planner at Fairview Financial Management, Ross Lacey, added some words of advice urging people to consider their insurance protections for worst-case scenarios like these expenses. He said: “This is the reason we're so passionate about Income Protection insurance as there are so many people who have minimal provision for emergencies and could only go so many months without earning. They also get little to no sick pay so if they get ill or injured and can't work, they're in serious financial trouble, too.”

Director at R3 Mortgages, Riz Malik, added some optimism to the conversation noting that these financial pressures should begin to “ease”. However, he did