Overstretched: people at risk of financial difficulties

One of the key findings from the recent FSA Baseline Survey of Financial Capability was the fact that large numbers of people have no financial 'fallback' should they lose the income of the main wage earner in their household or face a major expense. Although the great majority of people were currently doing quite well with regard to managing their finances, this could change quite markedly should there be an economic downturn or a worsening in their financial position for some other reason.

The Baseline Survey reports these findings, but does not explore them in any detail. The purpose of this research was to undertake further analysis of the FSA financial capability survey data to explore the extent to which the UK population is at risk should they experience a financial shock.

Overstretched: People at risk of financial difficulties (PDF, 346kB)