Almost one in two households are concerned about being able to keep up with mortgage and rent payments over the next year, says Legal & General.
According to L&G’s Rebuilding Britain Index (RBI) announced today, 95% of working UK households have experienced a real terms pay cut over the last 12 months as wages fail to keep up with inflation.
Those on the lowest incomes are being hit the hardest, with 99% of people on less than £20,000 suffering a pay cut in real terms.
As a result, 47% of households are concerned about being able to pay their mortgage or rent, and more than half (54%) have tightened their belts by reducing day-to-day spending.
Stagnating wages are not helping aspiring homeowners either, with last week’s ONS housing affordability report revealing that full-time workers in England can now expect to spend more than eight times their annual earnings when buying a home.
Legal & General group chief executive Sir Nigel Wilson comments: “Our research across 20,000 UK households exposes the stark choices that inflation is forcing on many people in Britain. Levels of employment continue to improve but real wages are lagging behind.
“It is particularly concerning to see that not only are the key RBI measures such as access to housing and healthcare stalling or falling nationwide, but that the cost-of-living pressures are widening the inequalities that the Levelling Up agenda is aiming to address.”
