Delaying key life events like getting married, having children or buying a home is a key factor behind two in five adults across the UK who are also putting off taking out protection cover.
This is according to Legal & General research of 2,000 UK adults which found that while 12% are waiting until they are married, become parents, or own a home to get key financial products, social changes have seen these milestones increasingly delayed.
Analysis of official records found that the average age at which UK adults have their first child is the highest since records began, now at 32 years old.
Meanwhile, the average age for a person to buy their first home is up to 34, the highest in decades.
People in the UK are also getting married later, with women on average getting married at 33 and men at 35. This has increased steadily over the last few decades, up from an average of 29 and 32 respectively in the year 2000.
The insurer found that key life milestones are typically when families start to take their finances more seriously, saving more, planning retirement or taking out protection.
Its research indicates that two out of five UK adults who have not started a family yet (21%) said this was a factor in putting off key financial decisions. This includes taking out protection insurance (22%), starting to save into a pension (23%) and putting money into savings (18%).
Around 11% of people were putting off making these decisions until they got married and 17% were waiting until they purchased their own home.
Evolving make-up of families
With the make-up of families also now evolving, the research found one in four UK family households are now blended families (23%), where two adults with children from previous relationships come together and mix their families.
This can sometimes complicate family finances as people are more likely to co-parent with people outside their home.
Three in five families who do not have children (60%) were never planning to have them – meaning they are less likely to take up products such as life insurance or critical illness cover, as having children often leads people to consider this.
Waiting until midlife
Paula Llewellyn, chief marketing officer and managing director (Direct), Legal & General Retail said: “Our research shows that people are waiting until they reach midlife to think about their money, with the average UK adult only engaging with their finances at age 48.
“Partly, this is because life milestones tend to motivate people to act and think about their finances.
“But people are making these decisions later in life or not at all, leaving many adults without suitable financial products and safety nets.
“Waiting to reach traditional life milestones like marriage and parenthood before engaging with your finances poses risks.
“It increases the likelihood of missed opportunities for insurance, savings, and investments; we know that five million childless households are lacking some of these key products. And the impacts are already being felt.
“The hold up on people putting money into savings, could be contributing to the 30% of UK adults without savings or investments or less than £1,000 in place to meet surprise costs should they lose their income
“By managing money earlier, you can build a stronger foundation to help navigate life’s uncertainties.
“With families changing, the financial services industry also needs to consider how we help people think about their finances sooner, without relying on milestones of the past.
“Recently, we introduced our new podcast, ‘A Little Bit Richer’ and supported it with TikTok content to help younger people with money matters. In doing so, we started conversations and joined those already happening to help people better understand their money.
“But there is always more to do to innovate and update how we communicate with people, meeting them where they are in their lives and with their finances.”