News

• Money worries see six in ten people go to work when ill, according to new poll from Nationwide
• One in three ignore doctor’s advice due to financial concerns, even when worried about serious illness
• Three in ten have no financial protection if they were off work while 27% could only last a month
• But less than three in ten have an income protection policy should they fall ill or become injured
• Nationwide Injury & Illness insurance can help protect income if off work for four weeks or more

• Nationwide’s Spending Report analyses nearly 200m card and direct debit transactions in January
• Annual spending growth up 18%, despite Plan B restrictions, reflecting a country more open than last January
• Non-essential spend rockets by 43 per cent as people book holidays, flights and cruises for 2022
• Essential spend up 15 per cent on last year with spending on utilities and bills up nine percent year-on-year
• Payments via mobile phone continue to thrive – transactions up a staggering 179 per cent on January last year

• Three in ten people who are lonely & socially isolated say it makes them ripe for romance scams
• Number of people saying they’ve no contact with friends and family trebles since March 2020
• Two thirds have felt suspicious over dating profiles but 12% would carry on flirting regardless
• Young people particularly vulnerable as more use dating apps and more have felt ‘on their own’
• Follows Nationwide’s launch of Scam Checker Service, available in branch or over the telephone

• Society increases maximum Loan-to-Value available through Helping Hand mortgage to 95 per cent
• Helping Hand enables first-time buyers to borrow up to 5.5x income when taking 5 or 10-year mortgage
• Affordability boosted by 20% with a couple earning £50,000 able to borrow maximum of £275,000
• Helping Hand boost comes as affordability continues to be a major housing hurdle for many

• Point at which households will consider acting drops by more than £10 in less than a year, poll shows
• 69% plan to make their homes more energy efficient, while 45% have begun making some changes
• Around eight in ten more inclined to improve their home’s energy efficiency than six months ago
• But while people plan to make green home improvements, confusion over the process remains
• Society says “time to act” on greening our homes is now – but support is desperately needed

A cross-industry sustainability group has called on the government to deliver a long-term solution to better protect households from volatile energy prices, following today’s rise in the energy price cap, after months of soaring energy bills.

• BMR and SMR increasing by 0.25% in line with Bank Rate from 1 March 
• Tracker mortgages for existing members will increase by 0.25% as outlined in contracts from 1 March 

• Society increases rates by at least 0.15% on regular savings, children and loyalty accounts
• Flex Regular Saver continues to offer highly competitive rate – now 2.50%

• One in three landlords have considered selling rental properties due to loss of mortgage interest tax relief
• Quarter of landlords raising rents to cover extra tax burden - adding to pressure of rising living costs
• Half of landlords struggling to keep up with changes and want more support post-pandemic
• The Landlord Works is a tool that enables landlords to manage their portfolios for free online

• Nationwide invests in Wakefield site for the benefit of colleagues following its new ways of working announcement
• Nationwide responds to colleague demand for flexible working by creating space for collaboration and hotdesking

Nationwide Building Society’s highly-rated1 FlexPlus account is moving to the AA for its breakdown cover from 1 March 2022.