Brits in the dark about partner’s finances

A quarter of British people are uncertain about their partner’s finances, with new research suggesting huge numbers of people would not know where to look for assets if their other half suddenly died.

According to Direct Line insurance, more than one in five married people have not given their partner their current account number, have denied their husband or wife’s access to their savings details, or have a partner who doesn’t know the details of their pension. About 16% of married people would not give their spouse access to their credit card details.

These figures rise even further when expanded to include unmarried couples. An estimated 10 million people are unsure of where their partner’s money is banked or invested.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Earlier this year, a separate study by GoCampare found that one in eight people said their partner doesn’t know how much they have in savings and 7% have actively kept it a secret.

Research has found that women are five times more likely than men to keep their savings a secret.

“Financial secrecy extends to modern technology too,” says The Independent, with another recent survey suggesting a third of Brits wouldn’t give their partner their phone access code.

While compromising messages or photos was one of the reasons given, the majority of those questioned said it was because their phone had banking details stored on it and they did not want their partner to access it.

Georgie Frost, consumer advocate at GoCompare, said “an important thing to take away from this research is how we’re starting to see a long-term shift towards people wanting to stay in financial control, particularly women.”