Three quarters (74%) of consumers say they are yet to see tangible signs of the recovery, despite the Chancellor’s optimism that the economy will grow by 2.7% this year. While the Government has pledged to share the benefits of recovery with savers and pensioners, an overwhelming number of Brits feel worse off than they did in 2010.
In the last year, over half (54%) of Brits feel their general standard of living has deteriorated and 83% say their essential household bills have shot up
Over half (53%) have been forced to reduce their spend on food, 63% have cut back on heating and hot water and 23% have cut back on essential healthcare
70% of consumers feel worse off now than they did in 2010 and two thirds (66%) don’t think the Chancellor understands the financial fears of ordinary people
Consumers say the cost of energy is the biggest issue the Chancellor failed to address, with 36% feeling indifferent towards the carbon floor freeze which will save households £15 a year
The Government should also have tackled banker bonuses (63%), care for the elderly (56%) and payday loans (52%), say consumers
Two in three households (66%) say they would need an additional £220 a month to ease the pressure on their finances and help them stay afloat.
Despite the Government painting a picture of a sustained economic recovery, three quarters (74%) of Brits are not feeling the benefit in their own financial situation, according to a survey by Uswitch.com of almost 4,000 consumers after yesterday’s Budget announcement.
The majority (54%) of consumers say they have seen a fall in their general standard of living over the last 12 months, with eight in ten (83%) witnessing an increase in essential household bills. To cope, over half (53%) are reducing the amount they spend on food, 63% have cut down on heating and hot water while one quarter (23%) have even cut back on essential healthcare, such as dentist appointments and prescriptions. In fact, the vast majority of consumers (70%) feel worse off now than they did in 2010.
The Chancellor may have announced the biggest overhaul to pensions and ISAs for a generation, but two thirds of consumers (66%) still don’t think that he understands the financial fears of ordinary people. Furthermore, 62% don’t trust the Government to make the best decisions for their financial future.
Nonetheless, there were some crowd-pleasers in the Budget, with many welcoming the freeze in fuel duty and rise in personal tax allowance to £10,500. Changes to pensions proved popular with 65% of Brits and the creation of a ‘NISA’ with an annual limit of £15,000 was hailed by 66% of consumers. Yet these ‘goodwill’ measures haven’t proved enough to win over the nation, with four in ten Brits (41%) now feeling more concerned about their finances following the Budget. What’s more, two in three households (66%) say they would need an additional £220 a month to ease the pressure on their finances and help them stay afloat.
Consumers say that the cost of energy is the biggest issue that the Budget failed to address yesterday, with 36% feeling indifferent towards the carbon floor freeze, that will save households £15 a year. Many also feel that the Chancellor should have tackled banker bonuses (63%), care for the elderly (56%) and payday loans (52%).
Jafar Hassan, personal finance expert at Uswitch.com, says: “The Budget may have gone some way to appease pensioners and savers but ultimately it didn’t go far enough to address the rising cost of living. Soaring household bills coupled with inadequate pay rises has left a burning hole in our pockets. Consumers have been left hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.
“The biggest issue concerning people right now is the high cost of energy, and it’s clear that the Budget did not go far enough to address this. It is now vitally important that the Government looks carefully, through its competition test, at how to make the energy market work better for consumers.
“The reality is that in the last year, the cost of living has soared to such a level that, coupled with poor salary increases, families are being forced to jeopardise their health and wellbeing just to make ends meet. However, consumers shouldn’t lose all hope as there are always things they can do to improve their finances, no matter how small. Households should use this year’s Budget as an opportunity to review their own finances to ensure they’re paying no more than they need to on essential bills.”
Charlotte Nunes
Phone: 020 7148 4664
Email: charlotte.nunes@uswitch.com
Twitter: @uswitchPR
Research carried out online with the Uswitch.com Consumer Opinion Panel on 20th March 2014 amongst a sample of 3,813 GB adults
In response to: “Are you feeling the benefits of the economic recovery? (i.e. do you feel better off than this time last year?) 74% said ‘No’, 20% said ‘Yes’ and 6% said ‘I don’t know’.
In response to: “Are you better off now than in 2010?” 70% said ‘No’, 24% said ‘Yes’ and 6% said ‘I don’t know’.
In response to: “Do you feel any of the below have improved / worsened since this time last year?” 35% said their general standard of living has ‘worsened a little’ and 19% said it has ‘worsened a lot’. Total is 54%. 40% said the cost of their essential household bills has ‘worsened a little’ and 43% said it has ‘worsened a lot’. Total is 83%.
In response to: “Have you done any of the following in the last 12 months to help cut the cost of living? (tick all that apply)” 63% said they have ‘Cut back on energy / hot water usage at home’, 53% said ‘Cut down on what I spend on food’ and 23% said ‘Cut back on healthcare (eg. Dentist appointments, prescriptions)’.
In response to: “Do you think the Chancellor understands the financial fears of ordinary people?” 66% said ‘No’, 25% said ‘Yes’ and 10% said ‘I don’t know’.
In response to: “How do you feel about the following which were announced in today’s Budget?” 36% answered that they are ‘Indifferent’ to ‘Carbon price floor frozen at £18 for rest of the decade, saving households £15/year’, 41% said they are ‘Very positive’ and 41% said ‘Somewhat positive’ to ‘Personal allowance to be increased to £10,500 from 2015/16’ Total is 82%. 32% answered that they are ‘Very positive’ and 33% said ‘Somewhat positive’ to ’Pensioners will be able to draw down as much or little of pension pot as they want’. Total is 65%. 36% answered ‘Very positive’ and 30% said ‘Somewhat positive’ to ‘Annual limit for ISAs will be increased to £15,000 available from 1st July’. Total is 66%.
In response to: “What do you think the Government should have addressed today but didn’t? (tick all that apply) 63% answered ‘Banker’s bonuses’, 56% answered ‘Care for the elderly’, 52% said ‘Payday loans’.
In response to: “If you could receive some additional money from the Government, how much would you need every month to just take the pressure off your household finances and stay afloat?’ The mean average for 66% of respondents was £220 a month
In response to: “Do you trust the Government to make the best decisions for your financial future?” 62% said ‘No’, 26% said ‘Yes’ and 13% said ‘I don’t know’.
In response to: “Taking into consideration what came out of the Budget today, how confident are you about the following?” 16% said they are ‘Very concerned’ and 25% said they are ‘Fairly concerned’ about their finances.
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