Alexander Burgess, director for mortgage protection specialist British Money, said the situation was “critical”.
He called upon financial services providers to help ease the nation’s financial woes and urged that, at least, lenders should automatically include mortgage protection with their mortgage offer.
His warning came as a survey carried out by British Money revealed that 52 per cent of the population admitted they would be in severe financial trouble if they did not receive next month’s pay.
In addition, half of people with income levels up to £40,000 conceded there would be harsh repercussions if they miss a month’s salary.
Mr Burgess said: “What’s more worrying is that people between 40 and 59, who should be preparing for and looking forward to their retirement, appear to have fewer savings to rely on than any other age group.”
Adviser view
Minesh Patel of North London-based EA Financial Solutions said: “It is crucial for clients to add mortgage protection especially when they get dependent, but many of them do not do so as they see it as an expense. Some clients may start mortgage protection but cancel that after a few months, which I think is quite irresponsible.”
