1 in 5 British adults have no immediate access to ‘rainy day’ savings, according to a new survey of 2,000 adults.

Online savings provider OpenMoney says its survey highlights the “precarious” state of the nations’s personal finances.

The survey, carried out by YouGov for Open Money earlier this month, found that 21% of adults have no immediate ‘rainy day’ fund.

An additional 18% only have enough to meet essential outgoings, like mortgage and rent payments, utility bills and food, for two months or less without any income coming in.

OpenMoney says its research also suggests many households were already struggling prior to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Key findings from the survey were:

• In the last 12 months, over two fifths of adults (44%) have run out of money before their next pay day at least once
• Three fifths (60%) of households have some form of debt
• Almost a third (30%) are “rarely or never” able to put aside any of their income into savings

Anthony Morrow, chief executive OpenMoney, said: “Our research makes it clear that many households were already in a fragile financial position and the additional economic uncertainty created by Covid-19 may push people into further difficulties.

“The ongoing response by the Government and banks to help vulnerable customers with mortgage payment holidays and extra protection for credit card users is to be welcomed, but more may need to be done to support those in financial distress as the crisis continues and as we come out the other side.”

The findings were from OpenMoney’s annual research into the UK financial advice gap and will form part of a larger report later this year. The 2019 report, The UK Advice Gap: Are consumer needs for advice and guidance being met?, can be downloaded here: https://www.open-money.co.uk/blog/uk-financial-advice-gap.

• YouGov surveyed 2,081 adults online between 9 and 10 March 2020.