Some eight million British workers don’t have any emergency savings

Almost one in four workers in Britain have no emergency savings, stark figures published today show.

That means an estimated 8.2 million people have no financial buffer to fall back on in the event of a shock, according to the data from the City of London Corporation and financial education platform Nudge.

A further 4.4 million report being overwhelmed by debt.

Higher earners are also feeling the pinch. One in five of those earning more than £95,000 a year said they struggled to sleep because of financial pressures, the survey of more than 2,000 workers found.

The impact of having a debt or not having a rainy-day fund can be significant.

After becoming a doctor and buying a flat, Ade, from south east London, thought she was doing everything right. 

She was earning a base salary of £30,000 and, working for the NHS, believed she would have guaranteed employment so wasn’t too concerned about her lack of savings. 

But Ade, 32, found her finances fell apart when she took a hit to her income during the pandemic. 

At the same time, her mortgage payments almost doubled as interest rates shot up. Ade fell behind on a loan she had taken out to renovate her kitchen.

She says: ‘I felt like I had done well, worked hard and bought a house and then suddenly I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, my life has been wrecked’. 

I wasn’t aware of how quickly circumstances can change without a back up.’ Ade racked up £28,000 worth of debt and her mortgage fell into £5,000 worth of arrears. 

She has since set up a debt management plan with credit counselling service Money Wellness and is now back in full-time employment.

Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London, says: ‘Millions of people across the UK are understandably struggling with their finances. 

Despite the challenging economic environment, many were never taught how to build resilience to manage shocks, nor how to plan for the future.’