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LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme, edition 18

How people in the UK feel about their finances and wellbeing

5 minutes

Our research gives a unique view of the UK’s financial and emotional health

This helps us understand the hopes and concerns of the nation, allowing us to better serve our members and communities. Our fourth anniversary edition focuses on family finances and peoples’ retirement knowledge.

Our latest data takes a look at:

Key resources

Key findings:

Cost of living

For the first time since we started asking in September 2022, the majority of people said they’re comfortably affording their outgoings. 

  • 53% said they’re comfortable meeting day-to-day costs 
  • Gen X (aged 44-59) most likely to say they’re struggling with day-to-day costs at 56%
  • Gen Z (aged 18-27) and Millennials (aged 28-43) are feeling more positive about their future finances

If you’re struggling with costs, take a look at our cost of living hub for support and advice. 

53% of people comfortable meeting day-to-day costs

Family finances

Many parents are managing debt alongside the daily cost of living. Despite this, many plan to spend more this Christmas rather than see their children go without. 

  • 30% of parents with under 10s have over £20K debt
  • 27% of parents with under 10s plan to spend more this Christmas
  • This compares to 20% (1 in 5) of all people planning to spend less

Understanding the true cost of raising children can help parents plan their finances.

27% of parents with under 10s plan to spend more this Christmas

Retirement knowledge

Gen X are the least knowledgeable when it comes to preparing for retirement. Our data also highlights a lack of understanding around the state pension age.

  • 69% of Gen X (44-59yrs) are unsure if they’ll run out of money in retirement 
  • Two thirds of non-retired adults don’t know the state pension age 
  • One in five with a workplace pension don’t know how much they’re paying in 

Boost your knowledge with our guides to planning for retirement and the state pension. 

69% of Gen X are unsure if they'll run out of money in retirement

Key resources

Older couple camping

Planning for retirement

A guide to how and when to start saving for retirement.

Read the guide
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Financial confidence

The right knowledge could help you to increase your financial confidence and plan for a secure future

There’s plenty more to help you in our pensions and retirement guides and life insurance guides section.

Wellness tracker showing +28 score

The LV= Wellness Tracker has seen a healthy 11-point increase compared to last year. Whilst significantly lower than the highs seen in 2021, this latest figure indicates a sense of optimism and stability. 

The LV= Wellness Tracker measures those who say they are comfortable against those who are struggling, indicating the current level of the nation’s financial resilience. Scores can range from +100 to -100.  

Boost your financial confidence

A message from our CEO

“Our data shows many people approaching the final stages of their careers would benefit from having a better understanding of their retirement options.

To ensure everyone has the knowledge they need to prepare for the future, we have a range of useful information to help with planning for life after work.”


LV= surveyed 4,000 nationally representative UK adults via an online omnibus conducted by Opinium in September 2024. UK population stats from ONS. Total UK adult population is 53.6m UK adults (aged 18+).

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The information contained in these articles is intended solely to provide general guidance on matters of interest for the personal use of the reader, who accepts full responsibility for its use. Some articles may contain links to third party websites. LV= does not accept any responsibility for, nor makes any representations as to the accuracy of, any content on such third party websites.

All of our content is approved by our in-house expert author panel.