Amid the worsening cost of living crisis in the UK, supposedly being driven by sky-high energy bills and inflation, households across the nation are reportedly seeing the sharpest fall in actual cash reserves available for spending in more than eight years. As per a report published by insurance company, Scottish Widows, elevated living costs during the end of last year led to the biggest decline in cash availability since 2014. The report also said that people have become more pessimistic regarding their future finances for 2022, as per the latest findings from the firm’s quarterly household finance index. The index, which essentially measures the overall cognizance of financial wellbeing for households, sank to 40.1 in the final quarter of 2021, becoming the lowest since the second quarter of 2020 when the coronavirus first spread across the world. The legal pay floor for those aged 23 and above will be increased to £9.50 ($12.59) from April.

Source: The Guardian January 13, 2022 09:21 UTC