Royal London Survey Reveals a Drop in People Worrying About Money
Wed Jan 17 2018
The motivations behind what drives consumers’ wants and needs when it comes to financial protection products is something you, as Financial Brokers, already have deep insight into. So it won’t be news to you that money has topped the list of things people are worrying about the most for the second year running. That is according to research commissioned by leading protection specialist Royal London, which found that 37% of Irish people view money as their biggest worry this year.
However, what you may find interesting is that this figure is almost 10% less than last year’s 46% who said that money was their biggest concern.
Joe Charles, Royal London Head of Proposition commented, “You probably could have guessed that money would rank as Irish people’s biggest worry again this year. What you may not have anticipated though, is that there has been quite a drop in the number of people who identified money as their biggest concern of 2017 when compared with last year. This could be an indicator that things are on the up for people financially, as Ireland is on track to have the EU’s fastest growing economy for the fourth successive year, coupled with a decreasing unemployment rate, which last month was at a near 9-year low*.”
After money, family was the next item people worried about the most. 22% worried about their family, which was a substantial increase from the 14% who said the same the previous year. In financial services, money and family can be intrinsically linked. Together they are the top two worries for 59% of those surveyed. This rises to 64% for those aged 35-54. The next biggest worry was health (18%).
Health is the focus
The nationwide Royal London survey also asked people what their biggest focus was for 2017. Health was cited as the majority of people’s main focus (37%), followed by career (26%) and travel (13%).
| Biggest Worry | 2017 | 2016 | Biggest Focus | 2017 | 2016 | |
| Money | 37% | 46% | Health | 37% | 40% | |
| Family | 22% | 14% | Career | 26% | 21% | |
| Health | 18% | 19% | Travel | 13% | 13% | |
| Loneliness | 8% | 4% | Family | 10% | 12% | |
| Work | 8% | 10% | Property | 8% | 9% | |
| Relationship/ Love | 6% | 5% | Love | 6% | 5% | |
| Friends | 1% | 2% |
The survey found that after money, 22% worried about their family most in 2017, a big jump from the 14% who said the same the previous year, with the next biggest worry being health (18%).
Joe said, “Overall health is a big focus for everyone surveyed. It is the top focus for 35-54 year olds and over 55s whilst it is the second most important focus for 18-34 year olds. The Health Insurance Authority (HIA) recently reported that 150,000 adults have taken out a health insurance policy in the last two years; 33,000 of those were aged between 40 and 49**. Although, as you will be aware, the introduction of the Lifetime Community Rating in 2015 would have contributed to some of this increase, it is probably also fair to say that as a nation we are becoming more health conscious.”
Joe concluded by saying, “There is no escaping that money is still a big worry for many people throughout the country. However, it does not appear to weigh quite as heavily on their minds anymore. Instead, they’re increasingly more worried about their family and focused on their health. As a broker-only company we know that Financial Brokers are well placed to help alleviate some of this remaining worry and in our press release on the same topic, have encouraged people to make contact with their local Financial Broker to discuss their personal finances and the options available.”
For more details, log-on to the Royal London Broker Centre (royallondon.ie/brokers) and visit the About Us/Media section.
