Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance Specialist at Royal London, comments on how the cost of living crisis has changed people's family plans.

A new report published by Royal London shows significant increases across housing, energy and food bills, and childcare, since February 2023 mean the average family with young children have seen their expenses rise by over £1,000 a month, leaving almost a fifth (18%) of parents with no money for unexpected bills or emergencies.

It’s therefore not surprising that 1 in 10 (10%) people suggested that cost of living concerns had directly impacted their family planning, with people suggesting they will either delay having children, have fewer children than they planned or even abandon their plans for children altogether.

Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance Specialist at Royal London said:

We’ve been tracking how people have been responding to the financial challenges of the rising cost of living for more than two years and it’s clear we’re now starting to see that people are making changes to their longer-term life plans. When prices for food and energy were increasing, we saw people cut back and make changes to their spending and shopping habits, but now we’re seeing that some major life decisions are being delayed as people are weighing up whether or not they can afford to act on the plans they’d made.

It’s worrying that so many people are going into the red or borrowing to afford monthly expenses. Interest rates on overdrafts can be high and if you’re dipping into your overdraft regularly, that could be a warning sign that your finances may not be sustainable. We know that high interest rates, which have fed through to higher rents as well as mortgage rates, are causing a real squeeze in the finances of many people in their 30s and 40s. Even if the Bank of England reduces interest rates later in the summer, it won’t help those homeowners who’ve had to remortgage onto a higher fixed rate deal. In some cases, this is costing families hundreds of pounds extra a month.

Full press release: A generation on ‘pause’ as cost of living concerns lead to delays in starting a family

✉️ Nicki Parry, Royal London, 07919 170 043 / Nicki.Parry@royallondon.com