People `worried about paying off debts`

12 March 2009

One in five consumers in the UK are worried about their ability to pay off debts, it has been found.

Research conducted by AXA has discovered that 20 per cent of people polled were concerned that they would be unable to pay off their immediate debts.

In addition, 40 per cent were worried about their finances in general, while 18 per cent had concerns over income stability and 16 per cent reported that they had significant financial problems they needed to address.

AXA also found that 80 per cent of consumers are now more likely to actively manage their money.

"The financial decisions we make now - be that on investments, borrowing or cutting our monthly budgets - could have a significant impact on our current and future financial stability," stated Steve Folkard, head of pensions and savings policy for AXA.

Last month, Fairinvestment.co.uk revealed that 47 per cent of UK consumers have been forced to raid their savings since the onset of the recession, potentially leaving them at a greater risk of running into debt problems in the future.

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Gregory Pennington is a member of DEMSA whose code of conduct is approved by the Office of Fair Trading.