New Zealanders worrying more about money, data shows
New Zealanders were worrying more about money last year as concerns about the economy increased, Financial Services Council (FSC) data shows.
It has released its latest Financial Resilience Index update, which is based on responses from more than 2000 people in March 2023, and shows some significant changes from the February 2022update.
The FSC found that 22.3% of respondents were worrying about money daily, up from 17.3% the year before.
More than half said financial issues had adversely affected their mental health, 43.4% said they had affected their physical health and almost 53% said financial issues had affected their relationships with family and friends. Almost 60% said financial issues affected their overall wellbeing.
Just 17.8% said they rarely or never worried about money, down from almost 20% the year before.
The FSC said women and young people were bearing the burden of financial worries.
Among Generation Y – those aged 37and under – 24.1% said they worried about money every day. That was just ahead of Generation X, at 20.5%. Those aged 73 and older were least worried, with just 5.7% worrying about money every day and 35.8% rarely or never worrying.
Financial confidence remained relatively stable, and job security was up – with 89% of respondents reporting their jobs were secure.
But 20% said they were very unconfident in the economy, compared to 15% a year earlier. Inflation was the most common concern.
The proportion reporting household investments dropped.
Almost 30% said they could only maintain their current lifestyle for less than a month if they did not have an income. Just over 40% said they could last one to six months.
“Being able to access money in an emergency is a key indicator for being financially resilient and prepared, but the data shows 39% of respondents (up 5% since 2022), equivalent to over 1.5million Kiwis, could not access $5000 within a week without going into debt if they had to pay for something unexpectedly. Further, the number of respondents indicating they have no household investments has increased from 14.4% to 16.9%when compared with 2022 data,” the FSC said.
The report found that more people said they were “very prepared” for retirement – at 11% compared to 6.6% a year earlier, but fewer reported being able to maintain their current lifestyle with their remaining retirement savings for five to ten years.
“There is also a lack of confidence in selecting investments and planning for retirement and although the majority haven’t thought about how much they will need in retirement, those that have vary wildly in their assessments about what they may need to retire with dignity,” the FSC said.
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