• The LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme indicates that the nation’s financial resilience is slowly improving as its Wellness Tracker increased by two points since September 2023
• Fewer people think their finances will get worse in the next three months, falling by 17% from 46% in December 2022

Research from investment, protection and retirement specialist LV= highlights how UK adults are starting to feel more positive about their financial future. 

The LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme* - a quarterly survey of 4,000 UK adults – reveals that the number of people who think their finances will continue to worsen is starting to fall. The LV= Wellness Tracker, a metric examining the financial wellbeing of UK adults, currently stands at +19 up by +4 since December 2022 indicating that the nation’s view of financial resilience is improving.

Ranging from -100 to +100, the LV= Wellness Tracker produces a single measure of the nation’s financial resilience over time by comparing the number of people who are financially ‘comfortable’ to those who are ‘struggling.’ Overall, 59% of respondents described their situation as comfortable, while 41% said they were struggling.   

While the overall picture paints one of some positivity, the latest LV= data shows some clear generational differences in in how UK adults are adapting to financial pressures and how optimistic they are feeling. One in five (22%) UK adults aged 18-34 expect their finances to improve in the next three months, yet our figures suggest this group is in a more precarious financial position than older people.
Despite the optimism shown by younger people about improving finances, Generation Z respondents (aged 18-26) were twice as likely to miss payments on credit cards and loans compared to the nation as a whole (8% vs 4%), as well as mortgage or rent (8% vs 3%) and utility bills (8% vs 5%).

Millennials (aged 27-42) are twice as likely to have received a final demand letter (6% vs 3%) and the most likely group to have used a pawn broker in the past three months (5% vs 2%).

Furthermore, the LV= research found that: 

• Respondents aged 35-54 felt more financially resilient than the last quarter, as their Wellness Tracker score increased by +6
• Overall, a quarter (26%) of adults have seen an increase in costs but say they have not been impacted by the rises, this number grows to 47% for those aged over 78
• Compared to UK workers, retirees generally reported feeling more financially comfortable, over a third (37%) were able to comfortably pay off their credit card or loans debts. Despite this, their Wellness Tracker score fell by -2 this quarter