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Ipsos Financial Wellbeing Tracker shows decline in worry about household finances – though stark societal divides remain

Public Sector

While still almost half (45%) of Brits are worried about their own personal financial situation, this is down from 63% in September 2022.

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  • Alex Bogdan Public Affairs
  • Stuart Smedley Public Affairs
  • Gideon Skinner Public Affairs
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The latest Ipsos Financial Wellbeing Tracker reveals a significant decline in the number of UK adults who are worried about their household’s financial situation. The research, conducted in February, shows that while still almost half (45%) are worried, this is down from 63% in September 2022, with the proportion not very worried increasing to just over half (54%) from 36%.

In contrast, assessments of whether people are coping or finding it difficult on their household’s income nowadays are largely stable. One in four (25%) are finding it difficult or very difficult at present (down three percentage points from September), with 48% coping on their present income (compared with 46% in September) and 26% living comfortably (25% in September).

While Britons’ financial situations are overall unchanged since September 2022, fewer are now worried about their finances - though almost half are worried - Ipsos UK Financial Wellbeing Tracker
The changes in financial worry mean there has been a shift in the five financial groupings identified in the previous wave, with significant increases compared with September in the proportion who are financially stable (27% vs 17% in September) and a significant decline in the proportion who are just about coping (22% vs 32% in September). Slightly fewer Britons are in vulnerable groups too with those who are financially precarious dropping four points to 16%, while one in four (24%) remain in the comfortably off segment.

However, despite these changes, a small but consistent share (6%) continue to be extremely vulnerable, finding it very difficult to manage on their incomes and being very worried about their financial situation.

Ipsos identified 5 groups based on their financial situation and outlook: The sociodemographic characteristics, life satisfaction and financial expectations of these groups differ significantly Comfortably off (24%): Tend to be older than average, owning their homes outright, living in areas described by ONS are Affluent England and Countryside Living. High levels of life satisfaction, least likely to be pessimistic about the economy and their finances Financially stable (27%): Somewhat older than average, owning their homes, more likely to be retired. High levels of life satisfaction Just about coping (22%): Similar profile to the general public, more likely to have a mortgage, and be in work Financially precarious (16%): Working age, with children, more likely to be renting, to be in work, and to claim benefits. Live in more deprived areas. Lower levels of life satisfaction, pessimistic about the economy and their own finances Extremely vulnerable (6%): Working age, more likely to be from an ethnic minority background. More likely to out of work, claiming benefits. More likely to be renting, live in more deprived areas. Very low levels of life satisfaction, very worried about their finances and the most pessimistic about the economy
Furthermore, when looking at the sociodemographic characteristics and life satisfaction of these groups, stark differences remain.    Life satisfaction falls, and levels of anxiety rise, among the groups who are more financially insecure.

Financial insecurity has a big impact on wellbeing: groups that are struggling more report lower levels of life satisfaction and higher levels of anxiety

These include notable differences according to generation , with a majority of the Pre-War and Baby Boomer generation either comfortably off or financially stable. In comparison, younger generations are more likely to find themselves in more financially vulnerable groups – and also to report lower life satisfaction and higher levels of anxiety.

Economic expectations

The research also asked about whether people thought the UK economy, the economy of their local area and their household’s standard of living will improve over the next 12 months. Pessimism is now much lower compared to September, though majorities still expect things to get worse for the UK economy and that of their local area, and very few are optimistic for improvements.

Two-thirds (66%) now think the UK economy will get worse, compared to 86% in September. Just over half (52%) think the economy of their local area will get worse, down from 75%. Meanwhile, 44% now expect their household’s standard of living to get worse, down from 59%. The proportion thinking their standard of living will get worse is now equal to those who believe it will stay the same (45%).

Vulnerable groups are more pessimistic about the economy, as well as their own standard of living

However, despite these shifts reducing pessimism, for all three measures, there is still very little expectation that things will improve.  Instead, more expect that the situation will remain about the same.  

Trinh Tu, Managing Director of Ipsos Public Affairs in the UK, said:

Our Ipsos Financial Wellbeing Tracker shows that there has been a significant drop in the level of concern about personal finances amongst the public since our research during the Liz Truss administration in September 2022, however worry does remain high.  This suggests that the Government may have managed to stabilise public concern following this period of upheaval, but there remains some way to go in order to restore public faith that the economy will improve.  In particular there is still a core group of the working population who may be coping now but who are still worried about the future, while the most financially vulnerable are also having to deal with lower levels of wellbeing and higher anxiety.

Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed online a representative UK sample of 6,189 adults aged 16+ from 2-8 February 2023. This data has been collected by the Ipsos UK KnowledgePanel, an online random probability panel which provides gold standard insights into the UK population, by providing bigger sample sizes via the most rigorous research methods. Data are weighted by age, gender, region, Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile, education, ethnicity and number of adults in the household in order to reflect the profile of the UK population. All polls are subject to a range of potential sources of error.

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The author(s)
  • Alex Bogdan Public Affairs
  • Stuart Smedley Public Affairs
  • Gideon Skinner Public Affairs

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