Financial Wellbeing of Australians is on its way to recovery, ANZ research shows

The ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator found that during the month of March 2021, financial wellbeing reached its highest spot score since the pandemic began (59.0 out of 100), indicating that the financial wellbeing of Australians is on its way to recovery.

This update draws on a full 12 months of financial wellbeing data, from April 2020 to March 2021.  The update illustrates how things have changed for Australians and the many continuing effects, particularly for more vulnerable groups in the community.

ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator key findings (April 2020 to March 2021):

• The financial wellbeing of Australians declined, from 60.7 (out of 100) in March 2020 to 57.5 in March 2021. However, in the month of March 2021, financial wellbeing reached its highest spot score since pre-COVID-19 (59.0 out of 100), indicating that at an aggregate level that financial wellbeing is recovering.
• We saw the impact on financial wellbeing has led to the increase in size of both the ‘Struggling’ and ‘Getting By’ segments while the ’No Worries’ segment has shrunk substantially.
• The biggest decline in a segment was in the ‘Feeling Comfortable’ segment, down 8.2% year-on-year, from 56.0 to 51.4 out of 100.
• All states and territories recorded lower scores in overall financial wellbeing, with the largest decline being in Victoria (down 7.4%), with WA experiencing the smallest decline in financial wellbeing (down 1.5%).

The ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator is based on the Roy Morgan Single Source survey of approximately 50,000 Australians annually that assesses financial behaviours as well as the psychological, social and economic factors that contribute to financial wellbeing.

Read the ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator report here.