The average Briton would only be able to survive financially for a month if they were unable to work, a survey suggested today.
One in five admit they have no financial safety net in place if they lost their job or were unable to work because of illness, while the average person has only enough money to last them for four weeks.
Instead 25% of workers would rely on their partner to support them and 25% would turn to their family for help, according to insurer Unum.
Only 10% have some form of insurance in case they cannot work, while 44% said they had savings they would fall back on.
Marco Forato, Unum's chief marketing officer, said: "It's really quite concerning to see that so many people are living on a knife edge when it comes to financial protection. A month is a very short time in reality if you suddenly find yourself unable to work."
Only 17% of people in the South-East took no steps to protect themselves in case they were not working, with 16% failing to do so in Scotland. At the other end of the scale, 32% in Wales have no savings or insurance policies and 24% in the North-East.
