More than a third of Britons expect their finances to get worse after Brexit
As the date of a possible withdrawal looms, UK adults are increasingly worried about their financial wellbeing
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Your support makes all the difference.More than a third of British adults – around 17 million people – think their financial circumstances will deteriorate after Brexit, according to new data based on a poll that included those who voted to remain in the EU and those who voted to leave in the original referendum.
A rise in the cost of food, a fall in the value of the pound and an increase in the cost of energy were the top three biggest concerns among those fearing for their cash, with 93 per cent – approximately 16 million adults – expecting the cost of food to go up, the survey found.
Others fear a rise in the cost of borrowing and the cost of housing, while another 27 per cent believe their income could fall, according to the research by YouGov for mutual insurer Royal London.
The numbers are up slightly since the last poll in November, but as the 29 March deadline looms with no deal yet agreed, the same proportion of people expect their money matters to stay the same.
Almost one in 10 believe their personal finances will get better, the study also reveals, because they instead expect a rise in the value of the pound and a fall in the cost of food.
The study follows news from the Office for National Statistics that last month confirmed the UK economy had slowed in the last quarter of 2018 after a reasonably strong summer full of World Cup euphoria and sunshine.
That data coincided with the Bank of England releasing a downgraded growth forecast for the UK thanks to greater Brexit uncertainty and subdued global economic growth.
Even with a smooth transition to a new Brexit deal, bodies including the CBI expect the UK economy to experience “subdued growth”.
Two sides, one future
Overall, 63 per cent of Remain voters believe that their personal finances will get worse after the UK leaves the EU, compared with 11 per cent of those who voted Leave.
Just 1 per cent of Remain voters think their finances will get better, against 17 per cent of Leave voters. Meanwhile, 23 per cent of Remain voters think their finances will stay much the same, compared with 59 per cent of Leave voters.
“People are becoming more pessimistic about the real impact Brexit is going to have on them personally with each passing day, but they still don’t know what, if anything, to do about it,” says Becky O’Connor, a personal finance specialist for Royal London.
“But 15 per cent of Brits have put off making a big financial decision – that’s millions of people not getting on with their lives – not buying homes, not going on holiday, not buying cars, as Brexit negotiations roll on.”
Around 4 million people have already made changes to their personal finances specifically because of uncertainty around Brexit, mostly by reducing their spending, increasing their savings and a quarter who have chosen not to go on holiday this year.
Of those who had made changes, 63 per cent said they had reduced their spending, 46 per cent had increased their savings and 27 per cent had chosen not to go on holiday this year.
One in 10 people, including around a quarter of those in their 50s, has even said they have put off retirement as a direct result of Brexit uncertainty.
“Anyone who is worried can take some precautions with their cash, such as making sure they have a savings buffer worth three to six months of salary, exchanging currency in advance to secure a certain rate and talking through the risk level of their long-term investments and pensions with an independent financial adviser,” suggests O’Connor.
But for some, the heightened focus on post-Brexit finances could be a blessing in disguise.
Despite holidaymakers expecting higher travel insurance bills this summer, data from Consumer Intelligence suggests more of us will be prompted to buy more extensive as well as more expensive cover after Brexit.
Around a quarter of Britons fail to consistently buy cover for European destinations, relying partly on the free European Health Insurance card provided to UK passport holders as part of our EU membership benefits. After Brexit, half of them say they will instead buy cover for themselves and their families.
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