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Financial literacy falls among UK employees – Nudge

48% of employees with low financial literacy reported good or excellent physical health, compared to 62% of those with stronger financial knowledge. 

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Financial literacy falls among UK employees – Nudge
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Financial literacy among UK employees has fallen from 78% to 72%, according to Nudge’s Global Financial Wellbeing Report for 2026. 

The report showed that as financial systems become more complex, employees are finding it harder to keep up, with understanding and action both on the decline.

The data revealed that 13% of those with strong literacy had experienced overspending, compared to 33% of those with low literacy. 

Just 8% of those with good literacy were without a retirement fund, compared to 44% among those with poor literacy.

The report also highlighted the “indifferent middle” of employees who feel neutral about their finances. 

Data showed that this group was 12% less likely to report good financial literacy and more likely to show signs of financial vulnerability. 

For example, 23% have little or no emergency savings, and 31% have saved less than one month’s salary, both higher than the global averages.

Only 48% of UK employees with low financial literacy reported good or excellent physical health, compared to 62% of those with stronger financial knowledge. 

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The report linked lower financial capability to higher stress and anxiety, with those in the indifferent middle more likely to feel anxious about money.

The UK was among the countries where becoming a parent generated the highest negative sentiment at 37%. 

Additionally, the report found that 40% of UK employees are not saving enough to meet their financial goals and 20% have no emergency savings at all. 

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13% said they felt overwhelmed by their debts.

Early financial experiences were shown to have a lasting impact. 

In the UK, only 21% to 25% of employees scored highly on the “Financial Starting Line Index”, which measures factors such as financial education growing up and whether money was discussed at home. 

The report found that people who had better financial education and discussed money at home were more likely to have strong financial capability later in life.

The proportion of UK employees who believed their employer was genuinely invested in their financial goals fell from 44% in 2025 to 35% in 2026. 

The number who said their relationship with their employer went beyond transactional also dropped from 45% to 39%.

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