According to Bright Grey’s annual Financial Safety Net report, stress at the thought of surviving without a salary is particularly pronounced in those aged 18-34 (67%), dubbed ‘Generation Recession’, who have spent the majority or all of their working lives in an uneasy financial climate.

However, despite more than two-thirds worrying about how they would cope without their salary, this is still 5 percentage points lower than this time last year (72% of 18-34 year olds in 2012) which could be an indicator that young people feel more prepared financially.

The average person now estimates they could continue to support themselves for just over ten months.

Households are also starting to think about their futures with the amount of people without savings falling by 1.7 million. In fact the average person now has £9,883 in savings tucked away for a rainy day.

Jennifer Gilchrist, senior product development manager, Bright Grey said: “It is always encouraging to see people planning from a financial perspective, particularly as these figures indicate renewed confidence in individuals’ abilities to control their own finances. However, it is important that we do not encourage complacency.

“Our report indicates that 60 per cent of people do not currently have any kind of protection insurance and with the average monthly household expenditure currently estimated to be over £2,000 a month people’s hard-earned savings may not tide them over for as long as they hope. Now is the time to strengthen your financial safety net and ensure that finance is not your concern should you or a loved one be diagnosed with a serious illness, suffer a disability or die.”