A total of 28.5% of households in 2017/18 were finding it either very or quite difficult to manage financially, or ‘just about getting by’, according to a new report from charitable foundation the Barrow Cadbury Trust.
When it looked at those in the bottom 20% of the income distribution, around 45% were just about getting by in 2017/18.
The Trust commissioned the monitor, now in its eighth year, to measure changing levels of financial inclusion in Britain. Understanding Society is used to understand financial wellbeing and people’s savings behaviour. As well as its findings on money worries, the 2020 report shows:
- 43% of the population say they save something, but this varies considerably by earnings level
- those with earnings in the top fifth of the income distribution are twice as likely to save compared to those who have no earnings (65% compared to 31%)
- however, almost one third of those without earnings still save something
The monitor uses administrative data from ONS, the Bank of England and a number of government departments, and data from Understanding Society, the Wealth and Assets Survey, the Family Resources Survey, the Labour Force Survey and others.
This year’s report also says “COVID-19 is having a massive impact on household finances, with incomes falling and personal debts increasing” but adds that the pandemic, too, is having an uneven effect. There is a “growing gulf between the minority whose savings have increased and those who’ve seen incomes fall and debts grow”.
Income and expenditure
