Britons who receive ongoing professional financial advice are almost twice as likely to take action on a financial decision (70%) than those who do not receive advice (41%), according to new research.
Over a third (36%) of UK adults have spent a year or longer mulling over a financial decision, according to wealth manager St James’s Place’s 2026 Real Life Advice Report.
A further two fifths (41%) have considered a decision but ultimately not acted during the same period.
A fifth (21%) spent more than four months considering whether to start investing, including 11% who took more than a year.
Increasing pension contributions prompted similar delays, with 17% spending more than four months weighing up an increase and 8% taking a year or longer.
Of those who had taken four months or longer to make a decision, almost half (48%) said fear or lack of confidence has held them back from taking action, with the same proportion citing a lack of clarity or information.
Almost a quarter (23%) were worried about making the wrong decision, while one in five (20%) feared losing money. Others said they do trust their own judgement (16%) or feel overwhelmed by the choices available (12%).
For advised clients over a third (38%) said speaking to their adviser helped them feel able to act. Seven in ten (70%) cited confidence and trusted support as helping them make a decision, compared with 41% of those without advice. Two thirds (67%) highlighted clarity and understanding (vs 49% not advised).
The cost of delaying is emotional as well as financial.
Over four in ten (41%) of the UK adults surveyed reported they had suffered emotional or financial consequences from delaying money decisions. Consequences included stress or anxiety (17%), missed opportunities to save or invest (10%), and potentially smaller pension pots (14%).
Mark FitzPatrick, CEO of St James's Place, said: “Our research shows that for millions of people, putting off decisions can cause real stress and anxiety, while others miss opportunities to build long-term financial security.”
• Opinium surveyed 8,000 UK adults nationwide on behalf of St James’s Place between 1 and 22 September 2026. Quotas and post-weighting were applied to the sample to make the dataset representative of the UK adult population.