Single people are less likely to have recovered their financial resilience post-pandemic, compared with those in couples.
However, real disposable income is still lower for all than before the pandemic but spending has been cut so overall financial resilience has improved, a Hargreaves Lansdown study found.
The HL Savings and Resilience Barometer found the average household had £235 at the end of the month, more than twice the pre-pandemic level of £110, and the proportion with enough emergency savings has risen from 47 per cent to 65 per cent.
This was not the case for single households though who had just £40 left at the end of the month, up £5 from their pre-pandemic level of £35.
The proportion with enough savings has only increased from 37 per cent to 47 per cent, compared to couples who saw them rise from 52 per cent to 73 per cent.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown: "Real disposable income is down since before the pandemic, but people have cut spending hard enough that overall financial resilience has improved. This is an impressive result. It means that, as wages grow ahead of inflation, more households have a chance to get back on track.
"But the improvements haven’t reached into everyone’s finances yet. As life gets easier for some people, it continues to feel like one impossibly difficult thing after another for others. Single people haven’t benefited from the recovery anywhere near as much as those in a couple."
The survey also found how prepared people are for retirement has worsened since 2019, and the gap between the pensions we need and those we have has grown.
Renters were also being hit harder when it came to financial resilience facing, only having enough savings to cover two weeks of essential spending on average – when the minimum recommended is three months’ worth.
For those with mortgages, one in five who had remortgaged onto a higher rate between the end of 2022 and the middle of 2024 had poor or very poor financial resilience, compared to around one in 10 of those yet to remortgage.
Remortgagers have also seen the money they have left over at the end of the month fall to £315 - £95 less than those who are yet to remortgage.
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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