Research from Legal & General’s ‘Deadline to Breadline’ has shown that on average UK employees could be on the breadline in just 32 days if they lost their main source of income – an extremely short period of time for someone to find a new job, but what if the reason for your loss of income was due to sickness or the death of the main breadwinner?

The research also found that 30% of UK employees have no financial back-up in place should they or a loved one be affected by a critical illness, disability, redundancy, salary loss or death.

Financial planning can sometimes seem overwhelming or something to put off until tomorrow. But how would you pay the bills if you were sick or accidentally injured and couldn't work?

While income-related benefits from the Government may be available, these are limited. Standard Statutory Sick Pay is currently only £89.35 a week for up to 28 weeks*. With this in mind, it makes sense to think ahead and consider giving you and your family some protection.

Income Protection Insurance could be a good way to help give you and your family some peace of mind. Cover is simple to arrange and tailored to your individual needs, providing:

• Tax free benefit – you can spend the tax-free money however you want.
• Continued benefit if you go back to work in a reduced capacity, with a reduced salary.
• Return-to-work support services.
• Guaranteed premiums or inflation-linked cover – so you can protect against rising living costs.

Today many of us ‘rent’ our current lifestyles, paying for it each month through our earnings. Take that regular salary away and your home or your entire lifestyle may be at risk.

No matter what your current lifestyle, it can be a good idea to ask yourself how would you survive if you were to lose your source income for any reason and plan accordingly to ensure your financial security. Income Protection could give you peace of mind for when the unexpected happens – and such peace of mind should never be underestimated.

Please get in touch on 0800 612 8005 if you would like to discuss income protection further – our trained advisors are here to help you find the right policy for your needs and will discuss the options with you.

*Correct as at April 2017.