Only a quarter of NL residents are "financially healthy"

Only 27 percent of Netherlands residents are "financially healthy." Half of the population is financially vulnerable. Women and residents of the large cities score lower in financial health, Financieele Dagblad reports based on a study by consultancy firm Deloitte.

In collaboration with ING, Nibud, and Leiden University, Deloitte questioned about 5,000 Netherlands residents about their situation, attitude, behavior, and feelings regarding income, expenditure, saving, borrowing, and planning. They also looked at respondents' debt, income, knowledge of financial matters, and overall financial attitude.

Only slightly more than a quarter of Netherlands residents are financially healthy. They feel in control to comfortably meet all their current and pending financial obligations and build financial security to pursue life goals. But that does not mean they have all their financial ducks in a row.

According to the researchers, 31 percent of financially healthy people don't plan their money matters. A quarter has consumer debt. And a tenth has no idea what their debt looks like. One in ten also doesn't have a buffer to get by for six months if their income suddenly disappears. And 40 percent don't invest if they have extra money for an extended period.

There is still a long way to go in the financial emancipation battle, the researchers said. Women score lower than men in four of the five financial health areas studied, only doing better in "borrowing." Men have higher incomes and are more likely to get by easily. They also tend to have higher savings buffers and seem to be better at predicting their income.

People in the Netherlands' three largest cities - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague - score lower in all five areas than people in the rest of the country. According to the researchers, this is because many financially vulnerable groups, like young people and self-employed workers, live in the cities. The cities also house many people dealing with changing circumstances, like divorce or dismissal.