As the economic landscape continues to deteriorate and consumers feel the pressure on their finances, 8% are searching for a second job to increase their income, according to new insights published by Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group.
It’s women who are more likely to be look for a second job to boost their income than men (10% vs. 6% respectively). Those seeking extra forms of employment are likely to be ethnically diverse too with 19% of those of mixed ethnicity seeking an additional job, compared to 14% of black people, 12% of Asian people and 7% of white people.
The new findings are contained in Standard Life’s Retirement Voice study which captures the views and attitudes of working-age and retired British people about retirement planning and their finances. In its second year running, the research was conducted among almost 6,000 consumers across the UK – spanning five generations, a variety of cultural backgrounds and a broad range of household affluence.
With the majority (58%) of consumers admitting they are concerned about running out of money in the current climate, many people are looking at ways to boost their take-home pay. Indeed, 10% of those aged between 26 and 41 plan to change their current job for one that pays better. Asian (11%) and black people (12%) are also more than twice as likely as white people (5%) to say they’re thinking of finding new employment to improve their finances.
The current economic environment is forcing a new generation of pensioners to unretire with Standard Life’s research revealing that 15% of retirees over the age of 65 saying that they have returned to work. The necessity to return to work has fallen disproportionally on women over men with 36% citing that they did so as their pension didn’t give them enough to live on, compared to just 18% of men.
But it’s not just pensioners that are unretiring. Many soon to be pensioners are now re-thinking their plans, with 13% of over 55s delaying retirement because of the cost-of-living crisis.
As well as pushing people to remain in or go back to work, the cost-of-living crisis is also forcing people to consider cutting back on their everyday spending as they contend with soaring bills. Non-essential outlays bear the brunt of people’s saving push with the spend on TV subscriptions (50%), luxury leisure memberships (45%), gym memberships (36%) and music subscriptions (31%) most likely to be stopped or reduced in the scramble to boost income levels.
While 25% have had to curtail their savings, a much smaller amount say they would cut back their pension contributions as a first port of call (8%) – similar to those who would stop utilities payments (9%).
Sangita Chawla, chief marketing officer (CMO) at Standard Life, said: “We’re seeing immense pressures on people’s finances resulting in many being forced to seek new ways of increasing or supplementing their income. There’s a clear trend in people searching for second jobs, putting the brakes on their retirement plans and even returning to work having previously retired.
“As people look for cost savings, they’re more likely to stop or reduce regular payments towards TV subscriptions and phone contracts before considering adjusting their pension contributions. Despite the pressure, it’s encouraging to see that pension saving is considered to be on a par with utilities, with few saying that it would be a top priority to cut out this form of saving and lose its long-term benefit.”
