18 Jul 20255 min read

The shocking truth about life admin in Britain and how to bring calm to the chaos

Most of us spend hours hunting for lost documents, but with the right tools life admin can be simple and stress free.

Mother and daughter sitting of a couch taking a photo of a document

The shocking truth about life admin in Britain

Only seven percent of people in the UK have all their important documents in one secure place according to SafeKeep’s recent survey of 2,000 adults. For everyone else, paperwork is scattered across drawers, inboxes and forgotten folders. This means that for most people, finding essential items like insurance documents, passports or pensions is slow and stressful. More than a third admit they have already missed a renewal or expiry date because they could not find what they needed in time.

This scattered approach does more than cause inconvenience. It creates pressure and anxiety, especially when urgent information is required. Almost one in three people said it would take between three and 10 hours to find all their key documents, and only three percent could gather them in under half an hour. This everyday chaos is one of the reasons people delay tasks like updating a will or checking their insurance policies, even though the cost of missing deadlines can be high.

How disorganisation creates stress and missed deadlines

Many people keep documents in multiple locations. Half of all adults store paperwork in at least three places, with some using as many as seven or more. This makes it harder to know what is up to date and what is missing, which is why a third of people have experienced financial or legal problems after missing important deadlines.

Sarah, who lost her father suddenly, shared how this lack of organisation deepened her grief. “Quite simply, we did not know where anything was or where to start. It was stressful and daunting trying to work out where to find information when we had to communicate his death and move things into my mum’s name.”

For Sarah and many others, grief was made worse by hours spent searching for documents instead of focusing on family. According to Citizens Advice, paperwork confusion is one of the most common reasons people seek help after bereavement, showing this is not just a small inconvenience but a widespread national issue.

Why people put off organising and why it matters

If most people know organisation is important, why do so few actually do it? SafeKeep’s national research identified three main reasons:

Avoidance: People often feel that organising life documents is morbid or too much work.
Responsibility stress: Many have already dealt with a relative’s affairs and feel overwhelmed at the thought of doing it for themselves.
Lack of tools or knowledge: Some people want to act early but are unsure where to start or which systems to trust.

Rosa, who lost both of her parents before she was 37, explained how difficult the experience was. “In the moment itself, it is not like it is in the movies. You are expected to do something entirely unnatural like calling a doctor to certify the death and then a funeral home to collect the body. In the days following, we found ourselves less consumed by tears and more by forms, passwords and endless call centre hold music.”

This emotional barrier means many people delay until it is too late. Yet, being prepared can significantly reduce stress, save money and prevent family disputes.

Stories of change and peace of mind

For many people, discovering SafeKeep has changed how they manage life admin. Sarah, who struggled after the sudden death of her father, said, “I would love to say that we all learnt from the awful process and things were immediately organised. In reality we had not found one place to safely and securely store documents and passwords until we discovered SafeKeep. This provides a secure place to store everything for my mum so my brother and I can access it when needed.”

Rosa, who had to handle both her parents’ affairs, now uses SafeKeep for her own family. “A tool like SafeKeep can free up a whole department in my brain. And who does not want that?”

These stories show that organising your life admin is about more than efficiency. It is about protecting loved ones and freeing your own mind from constant worry.

Take control today

Getting organised does not have to be overwhelming. You can start with one simple step today by putting your most important documents in one secure place.

With SafeKeep you can:

Upload and tag files so you never lose track of important paperwork
Set renewal reminders to avoid missed deadlines
Create trusted legacy contacts who can access key documents when they are needed most

Andrew Byres, MD of SafeKeep, explains why this matters. He said: “From passwords and pensions to wills and insurance, our lives are more complex than ever. Yet most of us are winging it. This makes life admin stressful, time consuming and often costly. On top of this, when you die, this chaos is inevitably passed on, making death admin challenging and more stressful than it should be.”

Take control now and give your loved ones the clarity they deserve.