Netherlands residents much more worried about their financial position

The number of Netherlands residents worried about their financial future increased significantly last year. In 2022, 29 percent of adults had money worries, compared to 23 percent in 2021, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. That was the first increase since CBS started tracking this data in 2013.

In particular, young people and single parents were very concerned about their future financial situation. According to CBS, that is because money worries tend to decrease with age and as people’s income levels get higher - two factors that are usually linked.

Last year, 36 percent of 18 to 25-year-olds were very worried about their future financial situation. That percentage decreased with each successive age group to 23 percent among over-75-year-old, who were least likely to worry about their financial future.

CBS also asked respondents how satisfied they were with their current financial situation. That satisfaction also increased with age, from 71 percent among 18- to 25-year-olds to 86 percent of people over 75. “On average, men and women are equally satisfied with their current financial situation. But more women than men are concerned about their financial future,” CBS noted.

Last year, single parents were more concerned abou their future finances than single people without children, over 40 percent against 30 percent. “Even when considering differences in age and income between these two groups, single parents are still more likely to worry than single people without children,” CBS said.

Among couples, both with and without children, 26 percent were very worried about their future finances last year. “However, when differences in age and income between these two groups are taken into account, adults with a partner and children are less likely to worry than the group without children.”

Homeowners are also less likely to see their financial future as bleak than tenants. Almost a quarter (24 percent) of homeowners were very worried about their financial future last year, compared to 41 percent of tenants who receive a rent allowance and 36 percent of tenants who don’t get that allowance.