Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
July 2013
Income more families receiving income from jobs as the proportion in the lowest income brackets fall (pg 4). Expenditure overall drop in monthly expenses masks the struggles of one-parent families despite cutting back on luxury items (pg 6). Family wealth saving habits improve as families seek out the greatest returns from financial products (pg 8). Housing wealth rising property prices benefit homeowners but overall homeownership falls (pg 12). Family borrowing unsecured debts hit record levels with fewer families making monthly repayments (pg 14). Look to the future fears grow as financial stability remains fragile and vulnerable to economic strains (pg 16). Spotlight nearly a third of parents have bought an iPad or tablet computer to support a childs education (pg 19) Spotlight more than one in ten parents have moved house to live in a better school catchment area (pg 20) Spotlight paying for school sports trips is more popular than funding foreign language exchanges (pg 21) Across the UK Family income in London reaches its highest level while the South West overtakes the capital in terms of families living in rented accommodation (pg 24).
* For the purposes of this report, a committed relationship is defined as one where two people are either married or co-habiting.
Income
UK families typical monthly net income in July 2013 fell just short of the highest figure ever recorded by the Family Finances Report, which was 2,150 in April 2012. With 2,108 at their disposal each month 5% more than a year ago the typical family has 1,260 more spending power over twelve months than they did in August 2012 when the typical monthly income was 2,003. Couples with one child have gained the most in the last year (241 per month) although those with no plans to have children remain the biggest earners (2,303).
2,196 00 131
Couples with one child
2,264 149 18 27
1,190 00 15 41
1,050 00 55
Divorced/separated/widowed and raising one or more children Gain since August 2011
In line with the overall income growth, there has been a collective shift up the income scale in recent months. Just 20% of families currently survive on less than 1,250 a month, compared with 22% in January 2013. Low earners have made considerable progress since the first Family Finances Report at the beginning of 2011 when 30% fell into this category. Higher up the scale, more than one in three families now have a net monthly income above 2,500 (34%), up from 31% in January 2013. This marks a return to the same proportion of high earning families seen in January 2011.
Income sources
Nearly three quarters of families (72%) now receive an income from a primary breadwinners main job, compared with 70% at the start of the year. The number of families earning a dual wage also appears to be on the rise as parents pursue more job opportunities to boost their familys finances. A leap of seven percentage points means that 41% of families now receive income from a spouses full time job for income, compared with just 34% in January 2013.
Investments/savings
Rental income
August 2012
An increasing number of families receive an income from savings and investments in July 2013 compared with August last year (8% vs. 6%) which given the low returns on savings in the current climate may mean families are exploring alternative forms of investments. The percentage of couples with plans to have children who receive rental income has also doubled since January 2013 from 2% to 4%, suggesting that more may be renting out spare rooms or investing in buy-to-let properties to support their ambitions to raise a family.
22%
41% 20%
51% 36%
50%
23%
19%
Overall
With more cuts on the horizon, it is likely these proportions will be further reduced in the months ahead. The Institute of Fiscal Studies recently suggested that having been protected by the benefits system, poorer households will be the hardest hit by additional cuts to be implemented up until 2015/16. This suggests the number of families receiving less than 1,250 each month may also start to climb again.
Expenditure
The typical monthly expenditure among UK families fell for the first time since November 2011, with the July 2013 average of 1,748 representing a fall of 4% from the peak of 1,819 in January 2013. The latest figure is also slightly down from August last year (1,765) but still 16% more than the typical family was spending each month in August 2011 (1,510). Couples with no plans to have children have been the most successful in reducing their outgoings since August 2012 from 1,767 to 1,478 (-16%). Couples with children have also tightened their belts ever so slightly, although this amounts to a change of -2% for those with one child and less than -1% for those with two or more children. Coupled with the overall fall in monthly expenses, these figures mask the contrasting fortunes of other family types. Expenses have soared by 22% since August 2012 among divorced, separated or widowed parents raising one or more child. Single parents raising one or more children are not far behind having seen their typical monthly spend increase by 16%.
1,767
1,478
1,716
1,915
1,872
1,837
1,841
1,834
1,426
1,735
1,231
1,426
-16%
+12%
-2%
<-1%
+22%
+16%
July 2013
Percentage change
These families in particular are likely to have felt the impact of 7.26% inflation on energy costs in the twelve months to April 2013, as well as 6.51% inflation on clothing and 4.49% inflation on food. Luxury items are among the first to go when it comes to trimming household expenses. While spending on food has gone up by 14 a month across all families in the last six months alone equivalent to 168 per year a range of non-essential items including satellite TV subscriptions, entertainment and recreation have all been scaled back to compensate.
-10 -120
-9 -108
Financial constraints also appear to be prompting more families to forgo a holiday this year, with 51% spending on this expense in July 2013 compared with 54% in August 2012. However, those who do go on holiday are paying out more as their average spend has increased from 158 per month last summer to 172. In terms of prioritising family outgoings, the fact that monthly debt repayments have increased by 14 to 258 per month since January 2013 might suggest that reducing or clearing unsecured debts has become more important for UK families. However fewer families are making monthly debt repayments a trend which is visible across all family types. The biggest behavioural shifts over the last year have been among single parents, with 51% making monthly debt repayments in July 2013 compared with 68% in August 2012, and among divorced, separated or widowed parents of whom 52% currently repay debt each month, down from 67% in August 2012.
57%
45%
49% 36%
Couples without plans to have children July 2013
60%
48%
57%
43%
57%
46%
67%
Though some of these families may have succeeded in clearing their debts, the fact that these family types have also seen their expenses increase the most suggests that many may simply find they are unable to keep up with monthly repayments.
It is reassuring to see that overall incomes have grown in the last year, and improving conditions in the job market will help some families to manage the impact of benet changes. For some the effort of balancing the books has meant sacricing luxury items, but despite these sacrices, one-parent families have still seen their expenses rise, which appears to have hampered their ability to repay debt.
Louise Colley, protection distribution director, Aviva
Family wealth
Families extra income appears to be having a beneficial impact on their monthly saving habits. The typical family saves or invests 96 per month in July 2013, up by 20% from 80 in January to set a new record for the Family Finances Report. This is especially encouraging given that typical monthly savings or investments slumped to just 19 in November 2011 and after a brief recovery dipped again to 29 in July 2012. In simple terms, the biggest change in behaviour over the last two years has been among couples without children, who are saving or investing an average of 80 more than they were in August 2011, regardless of whether or not they plan to have children in the future. For the first time since the Family Finances Report began, fewer than one in three families save nothing each month (31%) a significant improvement on the 40% recorded in January 2011. Although single, divorced, separated or widowed parents continue to show signs of financial strain, their saving habits have also improved: 59% of single parents save nothing each month compared with 62% in January 2011, and 44% of divorced, separated or widowed parents save nothing compared with 55% in January 2011.
The savings message spreads: fewer families save nothing each month
40%
31%
42%
25%
32%
18%
34%
28%
All
40%
32%
55%
44%
62%
59%
Savings pots have risen as a result and since May 2011 the typical savings pot among UK families has swelled from 1,163 to 3,281 in July 2013. Over a third of families (35%) now say they are saving for a rainy day, compared with 32% in August 2012. A recent report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) suggested that savings will jump by nearly 20bn to 94bn in the next five years as families put aside nearly 7% of their post-tax income as a reaction to the financial crisis. This edition of the Family Finances Report also breaks new ground in terms of the number of families with no savings put away: down to 23% from a high of 33% in January 2011. One blot on the landscape is the fact that over half of single parents (51%) still fall into this category compared with just 15% of couples who plans to have children although this is still an improvement on the 60% of single parents with no savings in January 2011. Clearly some families continue to fight a tide of rising expenses to the extent that the typical single parent still has no savings put away and the typical divorced, separated or widowed parent has seen their savings fall from 499 to 205 since May 2011.
26%
25%
26% 22%
27%
26%
23%
20%
18% 13%
15%
12%
10%
11% 7% 8%
12%
5%
0%
All
The overall percentage of families with savings below 500 (12%) is distributed more evenly across the family types, ranging from 8% of couples with no plans to have children to 17% of divorced, separated or widowed parents. The same is true for families with savings below 2,000: the overall figure of 23% includes 18% of couples with no plans to have children and 27% of divorced, separated or widowed parents. At the opposite end of the financial scale, the number of families with over 100,000 invested or saved has increased steadily from 4% in August 2012 to 5% in January 2013 and 7% in July 2013 the highest number seen by this report series. Couples with no plans to have children are the most likely to fall into this category (11%) followed by couples with two or more children (8%).
33% 23%
13% 12%
25% 23%
3%
7%
36%
13% 11%
7% 6% 6%
Pension - employer
Pension - private
Interestingly, the growing interest in stocks and shares is most evident among couples with one child (up from 9% to 19% in the last twelve months). It suggests the act of becoming parents is prompting careful consideration of which financial products offer the greatest return to support their firstborns future. It also appears that messages about the importance of long-term saving are hitting home. Back in January 2011 just 28% of families had either a private or employer pension. However over a third are now saving through a workplace pension (36%, up one percentage point since August 2012) and nearly one in five have a private pension (18%, also up one percentage point in the last year).
Given the atmosphere of austerity that has lingered since the Family Finances Report began, the renewed commitment to saving bodes well for the future. Despite the pressure on their purse strings, more families are taking steps to provide themselves with a nancial safety net. By considering a range of saving and investment products, they can nd a favourable return and make sure their money works as hard as it can for them.
Louise Colley, protection distribution director, Aviva
Housing wealth
The property market has benefitted from increasing government support in the last twelve months with both the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) and Help to Buy schemes getting underway. But with deposit requirements still high and property prices on the rise, homeownership among UK families including those who own their homes outright or with a mortgage has dropped from 69% in May 2012 to 67% in July 2013. Couples who plan to have children are the most affected, with homeownership among this group having dropped from 56% to 50% during this period. Faced with the dual challenge of saving to support both a young family and a deposit on a home, they are choosing instead to rent or live with family in greater numbers. The percentage in rented accommodation has increased from 34% to 40% since May 2012, while the percentage living with family has risen from 2% to 3%.
9%
12%
Own their home outright Own their home with a mortgage
47%
38%
Live in private rented accommodation Live in social housing such as council housing Live in sheltered housing - 0% Live with family
May 2012
July 2013
Other
34%
40%
6%
6%
1%
2%
1%
3%
Homeownership has remained relatively stable across other family types since May 2012: rising by just one percentage point among couples with one child (to 71%) and single parents (to 28%), and falling by the same amount among couples with two or more children (to 74%) and those with no plans to have children (to 72%). However there has been a visible shift into social housing which now provides a roof over the heads of 15% of all families in July 2013 compared with 11% in May 2012. This rising demand is in stark contrast to the falling investment in new housing by public corporations, which was down by 10.6m to 849m in the first three months of 2013, compared with the equivalent period in 2012 according to the Office for National Statistics. Growing interest in residential property contributed to a 2.7% rise in UK house prices in the 12 months to April 2013, but families have benefitted from a considerably higher rate of increase. Since August 2012 the value of the typical family home has grown by 3.9% to 218,760. Couples with two or more children continue to have the most valuable homes worth an average of 231,291.
210,620
218,760
146,416
At the same time it also appears UK families have been actively reducing their mortgage debt, with the typical mortgage among those who have them weighing in at 97,107 in July 2013 compared with 104,157 in August 2012. This figure is still higher than any recorded during 2011. Nevertheless the competition between mortgage lenders means many families who have recently remortgaged or are looking to do so will notice that typical borrowing rates have greatly improved since then. In keeping with the trend for mortgage holders to reduce their outstanding debt, the typical homeowner now has equity of 146,416 tied up in their property. This has risen consistently over the last 12 months, having been 127,424 in August 2012 and 136,416 in January 2013. The latest figure is the largest since this report series began in January 2011.
Second homes
Rising house prices and the appeal of extra rental income have both added to the allure of property as a medium to long term investment. From November 2011 to January 2013 the percentage of families who owned a second property edged up from 20% to 21% and the same level of increase has been seen in the ensuing six months. The 22% of families who now count a second property alongside their main residence include those who have invested in buy-to-let properties, holiday homes or time-shares. The average value of these properties has fallen marginally since August 2012 from 185,824 to 184,947 while the typical mortgage has increased from 117,672 to 136,502 suggesting a recent burst of purchase and remortgaging activity.
Improving conditions in the property market will be a source of comfort to many families as they see their assets growing in value. An upturn in the mortgage market gives families an opportunity to get on the property ladder or remortgage. Its important though that people review their protection needs as and when their home situations change, to make sure they are on a rm nancial footing.
Louise Colley, protection distribution director, Aviva
Family borrowing
Despite their growing incomes and greater commitment to saving every month, UK families regularly turn to unsecured borrowing in July 2013. In fact the typical household debt among UK families has grown consistently since May last year, and while the rate of increase slowed during the second half of 2012, it has picked up again since then. A 16% increase in unsecured borrowing in the first half of 2013 means the typical household debt now stands at 12,834, up from 10,563 in August last year and beating the previous record seen by the Family Finances Report which was 11,101 in January 2013.
August 2012
January 2013
July 2013
Credit cards remain the most common choice for families with unsecured borrowing, with a marginal increase of 1% since January 2013, boosting the percentage of families with credit cards to 40%. However the last six months have seen a general decline in the number of people using other forms of borrowing. While hire purchase has risen by two percentage points to 11%, the use of overdrafts is down by four percentage points to 22%. The frequency of personal loans (20%), doorstop lending (5%), store cards (11%), payday loans (5%) and pawnbrokers (3%) is also lower than at the start of the year, in each case by up to two percentage points. Considering the overall rise in unsecured borrowing, the figures suggest that some families are using their additional income and reduced expenditure as an opportunity to clear their debts, while those who continue to borrow are drawing on greater sums of money. This is backed up by the percentage of families making monthly debt repayments having fallen consistently in the last twelve months from 57% in August 2012 to 51% in January 2013 and just 45% in July 2013. While some families may have succeeded in clearing their outstanding debts, it is likely that others find they are unable to make regular monthly repayments.
12%
57%
11%
51%
14%
45%
July 2013
Families are certainly growing more concerned about their ability to keep up with debt repayments. This now ranks among the three biggest threats to their standard of living for 14% of families compared with just 11% in both January 2013 and August 2012. Predictably the greatest level of concern is among single parents (22% vs. 20% in January 2013) followed by divorced, separated or widowed parents (18% vs. 20% in January 2013) and couples who plan to have children (17% vs.12% in January 2013).
July 2013
5%
Lower savings rates
48%
Redundancy
Nonetheless the overall rise in families reporting these concerns suggests many feel their financial situation remains fragile and vulnerable to economic stresses and strains. Given the loss of benefits to date, it is no surprise that a growing number see further benefit changes as a significant threat (23% vs. 20% in January 2013). Poor savings rates have also clearly registered as a concern with more families since the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) launched. Anxieties over savings rates have almost tripled from 5% in August 2012 to 14% in July 2013. Worries about a loss of income from investments have also more than doubled over the same period from 3% to 7%. Given that the FLS has prompted a price war among mortgage lenders and fuelled unprecedented rate reductions, it is surprising to see concerns over higher mortgage rates have risen from 13% to 16% in the last year. The government has also launched Help to Buy to improve access to the property ladder but given widespread speculation about a resulting house price bubble, it is possible these reports have influenced negative attitudes towards mortgage products.
369
78
63
59
1,614
Transport
Food
including school dinners and packed lunches
Shoes
Textbooks
Sports kit
Out of school care weighs in as the biggest cost for UK families who spend an average of 558 per child per year. Spend per family ranges from those who spend nothing each month to those who have a much greater need for support and spend upwards of 160 each month. Recent figures from the Daycare Trust and the Family and Parenting Institute show child minders who collect pupils from school typically charge 72.78 per week while the average cost of attending an after school club for 15 hours is 49.67 per week. This suggests that for those families who regularly rely on these services, the annual cost can exceed 2,000 per child, per year. Parents spending on school lunches for their children has remained stable over the last five years, having risen from 270 per child per year in 2006 to 358 in 2008. While more was spent on packed lunches than school dinners in 2006, the balance has since shifted: 14% more is spent on school dinners than on packed lunches in July 2013. More than half of parents prepare a packed lunch for their children (51%) while a further 6% have children who prepare their own. One in three parents favour school dinners (33%) while in 5% of cases parents provide money for their childrens lunch but allow their children to choose how and where they spend it. Couples with two or more children are the most likely to make packed lunches (54%) followed by couples with one child (50%). Despite the higher cost of school dinners, the time-saving aspect means that 43% of single parents choose this option along with 35% of divorced, separated or widowed parents; just under a third of couples do the same (32%).
32%
50%
5%
6%
32%
54%
6%
5%
35%
45%
7%
4%
43%
35%
9%
7%
School dinner
Packed lunch that I make for them I give them money to buy food from the shops as they choose
All
On foot
47%
27%
34%
26%
21%
21%
12%
14%
10%
13%
12%
By school bus
11%
10%
10%
15%
9%
By bicycle
3%
4%
3%
4%
2%
The Aviva Family Finances Report 18 The Aviva Family Finances Report 18
58%
33% 33%
iPad/tablet
Laptop/computer
Kindle/e-reader
Have bought this for their children Would buy this for their children Would not buy this for their children
The Aviva Family Finances Report 20 The Aviva Family Finances Report 20
Trips to a museum/exhibition
50%
39%
40%
22%
18%
17%
One parent families are more likely than the UK average to fund cinema trips (68% vs. 63% - UK) but less willing to pay for a trip to a theme park (33% vs. 40% - UK). Interestingly, single parent families are the most likely by a noticeable margin to fund at least one of these summer holiday activities: just 5% are unwilling to fund any of the options given compared with 9% of all families.
The Aviva Family Finances Report 21 The Aviva Family Finances Report 21
All
I feel comfortable that I can afford all of the costs I feel concerned that I cannot afford all of the costs I can afford the basics but feel pressured to spend more than Id like to so my child doesnt miss out I have not really thought about it as they are costs that must be met for the benefit of my child
50% 30% 6%
14%
12%
13%
24%
18%
The Aviva Family Finances Report 22 The Aviva Family Finances Report 22
I have not started saving because I cannot afford to I am already saving and havent increased the amount Im putting away Im saving but Im concerned that Im not saving enough I was already saving and am saving more since the fees became more expensive I have not started saving because university isnt important for my children I have started saving since the fees increased I have stopped saving / am saving less because of other financial pressures
Of further concern is the fact that 5% of families say they have actually stopped saving or are saving less since the fees increase because of other financial pressures, while more than one in four (26%) have not started saving simply because they cannot afford to. This predictably includes larger numbers of one parent families 36% of divorced, separated and widowed parents along with 31% of single parents but even among couples with one child, more than one in five have not started saving due to a lack of funds (21%).
Tuition fees may have hit the headlines but an 11% rise over the last ve years in the basic costs of schooling will stretch many families budgets long before they consider supporting their children through university. As a parent it is natural to want the very best opportunities for your child. Building a healthy savings pot is one way to open doors for them and fund extra-curricular activities so they can develop new interests and get the most from their school years.
Louise Colley, protection distribution director, Aviva
The Aviva Family Finances Report 23 The Aviva Family Finances Report 23
Borrowing
Credit card borrowing is most prevalent in London in July 2013, where 49% have credit card debt and an average bill of 3,278. While fewer families in the North East (44%) have credit card debt, they owe 4,285 on average: the highest amount of any UK region. In the North West, 40% of families owe an average of 2,152 on their credit cards. Although Londoners have the highest average monthly incomes as well as the highest prevalence of credit card debt, both the North East and North West owe significant amounts despite having some of the lowest income levels in the country. This suggests there is not necessarily a correlation between areas of lower household incomes and levels of credit card borrowing.
Housing
London house prices continue to be higher than in the rest of the UK, although they have dropped slightly from 371,081 in January 2013 to 342,126 in July 2013. This figure still represents a significant divide from the rest of the UK, sitting at over 100,000 more than the national average (218,760). In contrast, the average family home in the North East is valued at just 152,667: even lower than last quarters figure of 159,856. The South West has overtaken London in terms of the highest proportion of families in rental accommodation in July 2013 with 22% renting compared to just 18% in the capital. In contrast, renting figures are at their lowest in Scotland (11%), the West Midlands and East Anglia (both 13%).
Average monthly income Average total savings Average monthly savings Credit card borrowing Average house value
Scotland
N. Ireland
1,999 124 74 1,057 167,857
152,667
N. West
1,968 943 83 2,152
N. East
177,007
Yorkshire
E. Midlands
2,083 2,881 109 2,042 3,410 86 190,341 1,700 1,199 87 170,663 1,878 1,171 1,283
Wales
London
S. East
Methodology
The Aviva Family Finances Report was designed and produced by Wriglesworth Research. Over 2,000 people aged 18-55 who live as part of one of six family groups were interviewed to produce the reports latest findings. In total, 18,222 UK consumers have been interviewed between January 2011 and July 2013. This data was combined with additional information from the sources listed below and used to form the basis of the Aviva Family Finances Report. All statistics refer to figures released in July 2013 unless stated otherwise.
Office for National Statistics, Labour Market Statistics, May 2013 Institute for Fiscal Studies, The Short- and Medium- Term Impacts of the Recession on the UK Income Distribution, June 2013 Office for National Statistics, Output in the Construction Industry for March and Q1 2013, May 2013 Office for National Statistics, House Price Index April 2013, June 2013 Institute for Government and Institute for Fiscal Studies, The 2015/16 Spending Round, June 2013 Office of National Statistics (ONS), Inflation Figures, June 2013 British Chambers of Commerce, Exporting is Good for Britain: Skills, June 2013 Daycare Trust and Family and Parenting Institute, Childcare Costs Survey 2013, March 2013 Centre for Economics
l l l l l l
Technical notes
l
A median is described as the numeric value separating the upper half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. Thus for this report, the median is the person who is the utter middle of a sample. An average or mean is a single value that is meant to typify a list of values. This is derived by adding all the values on a list together and then dividing by the number of items on said list. This can be skewed by particularly high or low values.
For further information on the report or for a comment, please contact Sarah Poulter at the Aviva Press Office on 01904 452828 or sarah.poulter@aviva.co.uk
106003815 07/2013
Aviva plc