One in five young adults, aged 18 to 40, are choosing to live with a partner primarily to make living costs more affordable, a new survey by Lifetime Isa provider OneFamily has found.
Some 21 per cent of those surveyed reported making this decision.
The research also highlights a significant financial disparity, with single individuals less likely to have an emergency financial cushion compared to couples.
Nearly three in 10 (29 per cent) single young adults lack an emergency fund, compared with just 16 per cent of those in a relationship.
Furthermore, single savers put aside an average of £301 per month – roughly half the £609 saved by those in a relationship.
This underscores the increased financial strain often faced by single people in managing day-to-day living costs.
OneFamily CEO Jim Islam said: “These stats are shocking, people are potentially staying in unhappy relationships because the bills are too high to contemplate managing on their own.
“It’s a tax on being single, made worse by the rising costs of bills.”
Mr Islam, added: “Financial independence is crucial, since it enables freedom. It needs to be something that is talked about in schools alongside good savings habits.”
He said that “building a savings pot absolutely supports financial resilience, which means less vulnerability to the ups and downs of life”.
The financial company’s report quoted 36-year-old Chris Singleton, who lives in Leeds with his partner Emma but had previously been renting by himself in recent years.
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Mr Singleton said: “Now we’re both contributing to our savings pot, it’s a shared thing. At the moment our priority is saving to travel. Our next holiday is in September this year and we’re also hoping to buy an old van to convert it.”
Opinium carried out the research for OneFamily in February, among 3,000 people across the UK aged 18 to 40.
