Young people’s money worries are increasing, with only one in eight described as being in good financial health in the latest edition of an annual survey by accountants Deloitte.

Nearly a quarter (24%) felt they had no control over their finances, while three in 10 were focused purely on making ends meet and unable to make long-term plans, such as buying a house or saving for a pension.

The research, carried out in collaboration with personal finance agency Nibud and the universities of Tilburg and Leiden, also found nearly half of all Dutch households (47%) were in a financially vulnerable or unhealthy situation.

Financial health is defined by the researchers as being able to pay household bills, having money left over at the end of the month, having savings or investments and being able to plan for the future.

Households in between the two extremes of ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ are defined as ‘sufficient’ if they are healthy in most respects or ‘vulnerable’ if between a quarter and half of their answers indicate poor financial health.

In 2024 the number of households in good health or sufficient was higher than in 2023, while 22% fell into the “unhealthy” category, compared to 27% in 2023 and 30% in 2022.

Lower wage increases

However, for people aged 18 to 24 the situation was significantly worse, Deloitte said. The proportion of healthy households dropped from 18% to 12% in a year, while 35% were described as unhealthy, compared to 34% in 2023.

“Young adults have benefited less from wage increases, while their cost of living and possible housing costs have risen,” Deloitte said in its report.

“This group also experiences more financial stress. Nearly a quarter feel powerless when thinking about their financial situation.”

Women are catching up with men, but are still more likely to be classed as financially unhealthy. One in four were in the bottom category in 2024, a 7% drop since the previous year, while for men the proportion declined from 22% to 19%.

The report also said that people who work full-time were in much better financial health, with 38% described as healthy and 24% as sufficient. However, one-third of full-time workers were struggling to meet rising living costs.

Deloitte said full-time workers were better off financially than part-time workers, but the latter group were often disincentivised to pick up more hours by tax and benefits rules. Only one in five people working 12 to 20 hours a week were said to be financially healthy.

“Given the persistent tightness in the labour market, it is important that part-time workers, who are often willing to work more hours if they have sufficient action perspective, are not held back by the complicated benefits system,” the report said.

“The government should simplify this system to lower the threshold for working more.”