Did you know: that as a result of long-term illness or injury, statistics show that 59% of people would last less than 12 months without their income, and 43% would struggle within 6 months?

It is increasingly down to the employee to protect themselves from the financial stress that such a cut in income will inevitably cause.  Just three in ten employers now offer an occupational sick pay scheme, and in the private sector that figure is even lower.  The smallest employers are the least likely to be able to top up SSP when you fall ill.

And it’s no use thinking ‘it won’t happen to me’.  According to the NHS, one in two people will develop cancer in their lifetime, and that is before you take into account other serious illnesses such as cardio-vascular disease, stroke, arthritis or mental health issues

One potential solution is income protection insurance.  This pays you a tax-free amount when you are unable to work through illness.  Such policies can be very flexible, for example enabling a reduction in the premium by delaying the point at which it starts paying out, which could be ideal if you have some savings which could tide you over for, say, the initial three months.