When you are off work due to an illness or injury, worries about how you are going to pay your bills can make an already stressful situation worse. So much so, that many people are finding themselves in the very difficult position of having to put the need to earn money over their health by continuing to go to work, even when advised not to by a doctor.
The rising cost of living is one of the most pressing issues facing many families today. The price of food, energy, fuel and other necessities has risen significantly in recent months. This has made it difficult to make ends meet and has put a strain on many household budgets.
Retirement planning can be complex at the best of times so it is easy to understand how some people can find it daunting to take into account factors like inflation. The reality is that inflation hurts everyone, but it can be especially harmful to retirees.
As more and more people reject the traditional working structure in favour of becoming self-employed, some people could be at risk of financial insecurity as they lose out on employee benefits that offer protection in the present, and financial planning for the future.
The staggering impact of the gender pension gap has been revealed in new research[1] which shows that women have lower pension pot sizes in every age bracket, with the situation significantly deteriorating as they approach retirement. Worryingly, women on average retire with less than half the income of men.