One in three of us fail to check pay
A THIRD of us do not check our payslips each month, up from 23% a year ago.
Employees across the UK are being urged to check their payslips as a growing number of us are failing to do so each month, despite 58% admitting we are more worried about our finances because of the pandemic and 47% revealing Covid-19 has negatively impacted their household finances.
Now QuickBooks, is using National Payroll Week this week to urge us to check our payslips and raise awareness of saving options, such as a payroll deduction scheme.
Even though most of us (61%) feel like we are on a firm footing when it comes to knowing about our personal finances, a third of us do not cast an eye over what our employers pay into our bank account each month — up from 23% in September last year.
This can have serious consequences with almost half (48%) of us admitting to having inadvertently paid too much tax through neglecting to check we are on the right tax code and that any deductions are correct, according to QuickBooks’s latest findings which show the problem is growing with the percentage rising from 31% a year ago.
While 41% of us think we know how our monthly earnings break down, little more than a quarter (26%) have a firm idea as to what we should be left with in the bank on pay day after all deductions such as pension, national insurance (NI) and student loans are accounted for.
Youngest workers, often the lowest earners, are the most likely to be paying too much tax with 66% of those aged 16-24 admitting they have done so because of errors.
However, this age group has a greater tendency to bury its head in the sand with half ignoring their payslips.
Perhaps they should follow the lead of their older colleagues as 60% of those aged 55-plus check their pay monthly with another 10% looking even more regularly.
Thankfully, 62% of us overall understand our payslips, although the 25-34 age group (19%) has the most difficulty in decoding their mysteries.
Interestingly, the research also revealed that if it was an available option, almost half (48%) employees would consider participating in a payroll deduction scheme, where a deduction is made into a savings account of your choice before you receive your net pay.