Nearly a third of adults are not confident their household could cope with an unexpected financial setback, up from 23% last year, according to data from The Exeter.
Only one in five said they felt ‘very confident’ in their family’s financial resilience, down from 22% in 2025.
15% said day-to-day living costs would be the hardest thing for their family to manage if the worst happened.
Confidence dropped among all age groups.
Last year, three-quarters of workers aged 25 to 34 felt they could cope with a financial shock, but this fell to two-thirds in 2026.
Those aged 45 to 54, known as the sandwich generation, reported the lowest confidence.
Only one in 10 felt ‘very confident’ and more than a third said they were not confident their family would be secure.
Over half worried their loved ones would struggle with bills, mortgage payments or funeral costs if they died.
Men reported higher financial confidence than women, with nearly two-thirds believing their families would be financially secure compared to just half of women.
Women were also more likely than men to feel less financially secure than they did six months ago and reported lower savings each month, putting away £252 compared to men’s £404.
Jack Southcott, head of protection proposition at The Exeter, said: “It’s not uncommon for many people to overestimate how secure their family finances would be in the event of an unexpected event or income shock, but today’s data shows that financial resilience is weakening across the UK.
“Nearly a third of adults are now concerned about unexpected shocks and for many it would only take a single illness, injury or period out of work to turn that worry into reality.
“While the industry has made strong progress in improving customer outcomes under Consumer Duty, there remains a significant gap between those who would benefit from financial advice or protection and those who actually seek it.”
Southcott added: “Closing that gap will be critical to improving financial resilience across the UK.”
