Nearly six in ten UK adults have no cash savings or savings of less than £5,000, according to the FCA’s recent Financial Lives Survey.

An even greater proportion of UK adults have no investments at all, ranging from 65% in the South East and 78% in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, only 40% of UK adults are confident in the UK financial services industry, while just 31% feel that financial firms are honest and transparent.

The survey revealed that only 37% of adults are highly confident in managing their money, ranging from 26% in Northern Ireland to 43% in the West Midlands.

The state pension is the primary source of income for 44% of retirees in the UK, while this figure rises significantly when focussing on London to 53%, with core cities closely behind at 52% and 51% in the West Midlands.

Just under 30% of non-retirees aged 45 and over expect that their state pension will be their main source of income in retirement, while this figure increases to 35% in rural areas. However, 16% stated that they had not really thought about how they will manage financially when they retire, including 20% of non-retirees in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber and core cities.

Commenting on the findings, Hargreaves Lansdown head of policy Tom McPhail said: “The FCA’s research deepens our knowledge of the UK’s finances. It is clear from this data many people are still unsure of their financial futures and mostly they aren’t turning to regulated financial advice for answers. A huge amount of progress has been made in recent years, cutting charges, strengthening customer protection and developing simple, reliable solutions for customers. But people still need guidance and help in planning their future. There is a vital challenge here for pension and investment companies to work with the government’s new financial guidance body to develop and deliver financial guidance that is accessible to all.”

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