26 Oct 2011

Half of Britain's families are putting themselves at risk by failing to take steps to safeguard their financial future.

A survey by HSBC reveals that 52% of parents with dependent children have no financial plan in place, leaving their families exposed to changes in circumstances such as ill health, job losses or life post-retirement.

Only 52% of parents in Britain have some type of life insurance cover in their financial plans to support their children - below the global average, and little more than the 41% of childless adults. More worrying, is that less than a fifth of parents realise this lack of life insurance puts them or their family at risk (19%).

Just 18% of parents plan ahead for unforeseen medical expenses, while retirement planning actually becomes a lower priority when people have children; 67% of childless adults have retirement finances in place, falling to 56% of those with children.

And despite 81% of parents aspiring to pass on wealth to their children when they die, tax and inheritance planning are overlooked by most. A concerning 65% of parents in Britain have not made a will while just 27% of adults with a child have a plan for passing on their inheritance.

The findings emerge from an HSBC survey Why family matters, the latest in The Future of Retirement series, which explores changing attitudes towards retirement and financial planning among 17,000 consumers in 17 countries around the world.

Christine Foyster, Head of Wealth Development at HSBC, said: "The fact that such large numbers of households are not planning ahead is leaving families greatly exposed to unforeseen events. Protecting the household's financial assets during parents' working lives will not only ensure that families can cope if there is a change in circumstances, but should also be seen as an important part of preparing for retirement".

Christine added: "It is crucial that parents the world over act now to secure their families' future - and financial services providers must do as much as possible to help people make provisions for every eventuality."

- ENDS -

Notes to editors:

The Future of Retirement: Why family matters 

HSBC's The Future of Retirement programme is a world-leading independent study into global retirement trends. It provides authoritative insights into the key issues associated with ageing populations and increasing life expectancy around the world. Since the Future of Retirement programme began in 2005, more than 110,000 people worldwide have been surveyed.

This report, Why family matters, is a supplementary report to the main 2011 report, The power of planning, the sixth in The Future of Retirement series. Both reports highlight findings from a survey of more than 17,000 people in 17 countries.

The countries surveyed were: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, UAE, UK, and the USA. The report surveyed 17,849 people of working age (mostly between 30 and 60 years). The research was conducted online in December 2010 and some survey data was collected on both a household and individual basis.

Cicero Consulting

A leading consultancy firm serving the banking, insurance and asset management sector, Cicero specialises in public policy consulting as well as global thought leadership and independent market research. Cicero was established in 2001 and now operates from offices in London, Brussels, Washington and Singapore. 

For further information please contact:

Samia Yakub, Bell Pottinger
syakub@bell-pottinger.co.uk   
020 7861 2507 / 07768 237632

Emma Ballantine Dykes, Bell Pottinger
edykes@bell-pottinger.co.uk 
020 7861 2435 / 07768 293525

download-the-future-of-retirement-why-family-matters-report.pdf