Many of us work long hours in order to secure a good future for ourselves and our families. But how many of us consider what would happen if our income stopped tomorrow? Although this can be a scary thought, it’s one exercise that’s worth considering.
In 2019, Income Protection Specialists, British Friendly, looked into the statistics behind claims reports. They came up with some interesting findings, not least that only 1 in 10 of us in the UK are covered by income protection. Considering 2.95 million was paid out in claims last year. To add to this, it was found that 13% of adults have no savings whatsoever and a further 24% have less than £1000 tucked away.
The question is, even if you have adequate rainy-day savings, do you really want to be dipping into them? Findings from The Office for National Statistics in 2017, highlighted that the basic state benefit cap is roughly half of average earnings and as such, most would suffer a severe drop in their standard of living should they be unable to work.
Income Protection may pay a percentage of your gross salary should you fall ill or be injured. Cover remains until you return to work or in the case of terminal illness, until death. There are various options to choose from within an income protection package. Some may be indexed-linked and allow for increases in salary, others can work in conjunction with employee protection schemes and offer a stepped benefit clause so that payments kick in after an employee scheme stops. Deferral times can also be applied.
If you are interested in finding out further details about Income Protection, we are more than happy to discuss the various options with you. Please contact us for more information.
