No other organisation has its finger on the financial pulse of the so-called “squeezed middle” like Birmingham-based mutual Wesleyan. Chief executive Craig Errington spoke to Anna Blackaby about what lawyers, doctors, dentists, teachers are doing with their money.

Teachers are the most nervous, doctors are worried about their pensions but lawyers feel they are over the worst – that’s the verdict of the man at the helm of the 170-year-old mutual whose Birmingham headquarters dominate the Colmore Row skyline.

Wesleyan’s core markets are middle-class professionals, which the mutual helps with savings, pensions and investments, giving it a detailed snapshot of the financial state of mind of its customers.

The mutual’s members even have a convenient new political label to describe them – the “squeezed middle” – a group suffering from the effects of inflation on their standard of living, seeing their savings eroded by low interest rates and being plagued by job security worries.

Mr Errington said a general nervousness prevailed among Wesleyan’s professional customers at the moment.

‘‘Clearly there are significant problems in the economy and it has been a turbulent time for the investment markets,’’ he said.

“There is a great deal of concern throughout professions about the impact this will have on them.”

Out of the main groups Wesleyan serves, lawyers are probably the most upbeat, Mr Errington said, and there is a feeling that they have come through the worst.

“Solicitors were impacted fairly early on as a result of the downturn in the economy and they were being careful from the outset,” he said.

 “Lawyers are slightly more confident now but obviously still remain nervous. Therefore if they’ve got money they want to put to one side, they are looking for an organisation that they see as a safe home.”

But when it comes to doctors and dentists, proposed drastic changes to the structure of the NHS have got people nervous – and they are altering their financial behaviour accordingly.

“For the majority of doctors, their income has remained fairly stable because of the nature of their role. But that doesn’t mean they are not concerned about the future, particularly with changes to the NHS and cutbacks.

“A number have reacted by cutting down on outgoings and putting more money to one side just in case the future isn’t as bright for them.”

A surge in demand for tax and pension advice owing to recent changes in the law has also seen high-earning doctors and dentists flock to the mutual for advice.

“We were struggling to keep up, and the reason for that is there have been significant tax changes related to pensions. That’s caused concern because we have clients that will be hit by lifetime limits and by the reduction in the amount of annual contribution you can make into a pension.