Financial wellbeing in June 2026
Summary
- One in eleven UK households (9.1%) reported missing a housing, bill, loan or credit card payment in the month to June 12th. This is the joint third highest level we have ever recorded, only surpassed by 9.8% in November 2023 and 9.3% in August 2024.
- Just over half of UK households (53%) reported making adjustments to cover essential spending, such as cutting back on essentials, dipping into savings, selling possessions or borrowing. This is slightly higher than levels seen throughout 2025 but remains far below the levels seen throughout the height of the cost of living crisis in 2022 and 2023.
- This month we saw little change in consumer confidence in the UK economy and their household financial situation.
Missed payments rose further in the month to June 12th
The proportion of households reporting that they had missed a housing, bill, loan or credit card payment has been relatively high over the last few months, with 7.7% of households missing a payment in the month to April 10th and 7.5% of households in the month to May 13th. Worryingly, the missed payment rate has risen even further this month, reaching 9.1%. Over the last six years of us collecting monthly missed payment data, this is the joint third highest level we have ever recorded, only surpassed by 9.8% in November 2023 and 9.3% in August 2024.
The chart below shows this missed payments data, but looks at the past three-month moving average. Using a three-month average is helpful because it balances out random month-to-month fluctuations and gives a truer sense of current trends. Missed payment rates peaked during the height of the cost of living crisis around autumn 2023 (8.5%) and then slowly fell, reaching an average level of 5.7% in the final three months of 2025. Since then, the missed payment rate has risen dramatically, reaching an average level of 8.1% in the past three months. These figures are concerning as they show that a large number of households are struggling to pay their bills.
Missed payments have risen dramatically throughout 2026
Approximately 2,000 respondents per wave. UK level data are weighted to represent the adult population of the UK by age, gender, region, social grade, working status and housing tenure.
Another measure of financial difficulty is the proportion of households making at least one adjustment to cover essential spending. Adjustments include cutting back on essentials, dipping into savings, selling possessions or borrowing. Adjustments have increased in recent months, but not to the same extent as missed payments. In the month to June 12th, 53% of households reported making at least one adjustment to cover essential spending. This is broadly in line with recent months where the adjustment rate has been slightly higher than levels seen throughout 2025 but are still far below the levels seen throughout the cost of living crisis in 2022 and 2023 of over 55%.
An average 52% of households reported making adjustments each month over the past three months
Approximately 2,000 respondents per wave. UK level data are weighted to represent the adult population of the UK by age, gender, region, social grade, working status and housing tenure.
Consumer confidence remains similar to May
This month we saw little change in consumer confidence in the UK economy and their household financial situation:
- Confidence in their current household financial situation: +19 (down one point)
- Confidence in their future household financial situation: -13 (up two points)
- Confidence in the future UK economy: -49 (up three points)
UK consumer confidence
Approximately 2,000 respondents per wave. UK level data are weighted to represent the adult population of the UK by age, gender, region, social grade, working status and housing tenure. Future measures ask consumers if they think things will get better or worse over the next 12 months.
Summary
In summary, June 2026 is marked by another rise in severe financial distress. One in eleven households (9.1%) reported missing a housing, bill, loan, or credit card payment, resulting in the past three month average (8.1%) climbing towards levels seen during the height of the cost of living crisis. This sharp uptick underscores a serious struggle for a large number of households trying to keep up with their bills. However, this intense squeeze on struggling families hasn't translated into a widespread jump in spending adjustments among a larger swathe of the public. While 53% of UK households are making adjustments to cover essential spending, this figure is only slightly higher than 2025 levels and stays far below the crisis peak of 61%.
Methodology
Fieldwork for Which? 's Consumer Insight Tracker is conducted monthly by Yonder on behalf of Which?. The latest wave of data collection took place between 12th to 14th June. A sample of 2,080 UK adults were surveyed online and weighted to be nationally representative.