Five years ago, the UK was at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 23 March 2020, Boris Johnson announced the first UK lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a traumatic period that many of us want to forget, but looking back there were some valuable lessons to be learned:

1. Don’t rely on the social security safety net. It was immediately clear that the benefit system was incapable of dealing with the massive changes and income loss created by the pandemic. A variety of emergency support measures were rushed through, such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (aka the furlough scheme). Five years later, the benefit system has reverted to its pre-pandemic paucity.
2. Your will should always be kept up to date. Completing or updating a will is one of those do-it-later tasks that are sometimes left undone for decades. For many, the pandemic was a sharp reminder of the dangers of such procrastination. Suddenly, a will became a vital document.
3. Keep a rainy-day fund. The government’s income replacement schemes took a while to get off the ground and left loopholes. Many never fully replaced the earnings lost. A cash reserve is a key part of financial planning, there to deal with crises.
4. Take a long-term investment view. The investment markets fell sharply when the virus hit. The FTSE 100 dropped from 7,542 at the start of 2020 to 4,994 on 23 March. The index ended the year at 6,461. Panicked investors who sold out as the first lockdown was imposed paid a high price for their short-term approach.