New research amongst 18 to 40* year olds from the OneFamily Group, which includes the life and critical illness brand Beagle Street, has revealed a worryingly high number of young UK adults who say they rarely or never set money aside in case they are ever unable to work.

Whilst half of those surveyed (51%) said they do put money aside in case they are unable to work for a period of time, for example due to illness, injury, or redundancy, 44% said they rarely or never do. This worrying statistic means more than 7 million young adults** could be financially exposed and vulnerable if they ever encountered a time when they were not in employment.

Looking at the gender divide, women are more exposed to financial vulnerability than men. Over half of men (56%) say they put money aside for this specific reason, compared to 45% of women. Similarly 40% of men said they rarely or never did this, compared to 48% of women.

Physical and mental health conditions

The research further revealed concerning numbers amongst young adults under 40 who have physical or mental health conditions lasting 12 months or more. Such conditions could easily mean many adults would be unable to work for periods of time, be it in full or part time employment. However, the majority (53%) said they rarely or never put money aside to help with this, whilst 41% said they did.

Meanwhile, renters save significantly less than those that own their homes. More than half of homeowners (57%) say they do put money aside to help if they are suddenly out of work, whereas 38% say they do not. In terms of renters 45% say they do compared to 50% who don’t.

Single people, who may not have anyone to help should they fall into financial difficulties are also far less likely to regularly or often put money aside compared to those that are married. Only 43% save for a rainy day compared to 63% people who are married.

Ryan Griffin, Protection Director at OneFamily, said: ‘These figures are concerning and show that many young adults in the UK don’t have any form of financial safety net. Life is unpredictable – for example you could be made redundant or find you have a health condition that impacts your ability to work, so this is a real risk in terms of financial vulnerability and exposure.

“Putting money aside for such circumstances can seem a big task, especially if finances are already stretched, and it is easy to have the ‘it won’t happen to me’ view. However, a few pounds a month can make a big difference in the long run, whether you put it in a savings account or buy a product that protects your income. Unemployment rates are sitting at a four-year high, so it’s really important to have a nest egg put aside for emergencies and to protect yourself, as we never know what is around the corner.”