Introduction to the FVI:
A clear picture of financial vulnerability in the UK
The Financial Vulnerability Index is an innovative tool to measure and track financial resilience, nationally and locally, across the UK. Created by Lowell and the Urban Institute, and provided by Opinium, the index brings together unique consumer data and publicly available measures to give a clear picture of financial vulnerability in the UK.
By using this tool, policymakers, local authorities, and other stakeholders can gain valuable insight into the financial health of their constituents and better target resources to improve financial resilience. Users can see Financial Vulnerability Index scores and their components for each quarter since 2017 for any nation, region, or parliamentary constituency.
Key Insights
The three important findings of the latest wave of the Financial Vulnerability Index are:
Savings crunch contributing to people feeling worse off
The FVI Survey reveals 59.2% of UK adults lack sufficient emergency savings, up from 55.7% nearer the beginning of the pandemic. The reduction in savings, coupled with the economic climate, has led to a perceived deterioration in financial situations in 2023. Nearly half (46%) feel worse off, with only 22% experiencing improvement. Looking ahead, 33% expect further even decline and while 35% expect no change.
Housing type and cost behind rising financial vulnerability
Financial vulnerability surged in areas with many private renters, apparently driven by soaring housing costs, particularly in London and parts of southern England. Constituencies with above-average house prices saw increased financial vulnerability, especially in London, echoing this trend. In contrast, many urban areas in northern England are cushioned by large numbers social housing units, mitigating some of increasing in financial vulnerability.
Poor access to good work a driver of financial vulnerability
In constituencies with above-average low employment, financial vulnerability rose significantly in 2023. When over 1 in 10 individuals were economically active but unemployed or worked under 15 hours weekly, the FVI score increased. This indicates heightened vulnerability for those with low income from work, especially in outer London, smaller cities, and towns in the south and east of England.
Data Explorer
Explore the results in detail:
Identify trends and patterns relevant to local areas
The Data Explorer enables you to explore the results of the Financial Vulnerability Index in granular detail, at a regional and constituency level. Users can find their region or constituency and view the data broken down by each indicator.
The tool gives users the ability to visualize the data to help identify trends and patterns relevant to their local area and understand the geographical relationships within the index.
Key Regional Insights
Explore the regional differences:
Take a look at the score across several cities and metropolitan areas
Methodology:
A summary of the methodology.
Opinium has continued to build on the work done by the Urban Institute in developing the Financial Vulnerability Index methodology with data collected from Lowell’s customer database, the FCA Financial Lives Survey and NOMIS, and latterly from primary research conducted by Opinium. The index is calculated with the following metrics:
- Consumers who are in default [Lowell]
- Consumers in late arrears [Lowell]
- Average credit use [Lowell]
- Consumers claiming social benefits [NOMIS]
- Consumers using alternative financial products [Opinium]
- Consumers without emergency savings [Opinium]
Lowell’s proprietary data included over 9 million records, with results calculated at a parliamentary level and then used to build a regional and a national picture.
About the FVI
Opinium & Lowell Partnership
Lowell Group is one of Europe’s largest credit management companies with a mission to make credit work better for all. As part of this mission, Lowell is using its proprietary data of 9 million customer accounts to provide free access to insight into the UK’s financial health for policymakers at a national, regional and constituency level.
Lowell and Opinium have formed a partnership to leverage the value of the insight in the FVI to aid policy makers.
