UK's biggest financial fears revealed ahead of Budget

Those are the findings of a new survey of people’s biggest financial worries, ahead of this week’s Budget.

A lack of money in retirement years was cited by 41 per cent of respondents, and given how much pensions have been in the news in recent years, it’s no surprise that 90 per cent of people said they found it difficult to save for the future. Indeed, 83 per cent of those questioned said they were scared of not having enough money to retire at all.

The research by UK cashback site TopCashback revealed other worries - a further 35 per cent admitted to being worried about falling into debt.

Other concerns on the list of top financial fears include being unable to save (30 per cent), not having enough money to cover monthly expenditures (29 per cent), not being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle (29 per cent) and missing mortgage/rent payments (16 per cent), and much of this could be driven by confusion over their finances.

43 per cent of those asked said they struggled to make the right financial choices, and of those, 63 per cent blamed it on not fully understanding their financial situation, while 61 per cent said it was because they didn’t realise the consequences of their bad spending and saving habits.

More than half of the survey - 53 per cent - blamed their poor money management on overspending and taking out personal loans they couldn’t pay back, as well as living outside of their means (53 per cent) and not realising the consequences of having minimal savings (35 per cent).

Unsurprisingly, the research also lists living payday to payday (31 per cent), being unable to save (30 per cent) and not being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle (26 per cent) as other top financial fears.

Confusion and a lack of understanding, which so often go hand in hand with fear, may be at the root of this worry.

Of those who have struggled with making the right financial choices (47 per cent), almost two thirds (63 per cent) blame their wrong decisions on not fully understanding their financial situation, while 56 per cent say it was because they did not realise the consequences of their bad spending and saving habits.

“Finances can be a very tricky and daunting subject, particularly in areas such as pensions, investments and even day-to-day money management,” said Natasha Rachel Smith, consumer affairs editor for TopCashback.co.uk.

“Many people have a tendency to ignore financial matters because they find them too difficult to understand or because they don’t fully appreciate their financial situation.”