CNBC|SurveyMonkey Your Money International Financial Security Survey reveals that half of adults are worried about their personal finances
With inflation as the leading financial stressor, adults around the world feel they’re financially worse off than their parents, behind schedule on retirement savings and planning, and the majority anticipate relying on the government at some point during retirement
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ; SAN MATEO, CA; LONDON, UK – April 3, 2024 – CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, and SurveyMonkey, a global leader in online surveys and forms, today revealed the results of their international financial security survey that found at least seven in ten adults in the U.S. (70%), Mexico (73%), Australia (70%), and Spain (72%) are ‘very or somewhat stressed’ about their personal finances. Only in Singapore (49%) and in Switzerland (55%) were fewer adults stressed by their finances.
Inflation is the leading source of financial stress among respondents in all countries surveyed. Around half of adults in Singapore (46%), Mexico (56%), the UK (51%), Spain (55%), and Switzerland (48%) are concerned with price increases. Six in ten adults or more in the U.S., Australia, France and Germany share the same worries.
As CNBC doubles-down on its existing focus on personal finance to help democratize business information for all, this survey sought to find out how respondents in the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK felt about their financial legacy and of their future generations. Click here to watch a report from CNBC’s Senior Personal Finance Correspondent Sharon Epperson. To access the survey’s full results, including country breakdowns and methodology, click here.
“The burden of inflation, debt, and minimal savings are creating the perfect storm for financial anxiety internationally,” said Katie Miserany, senior vice president and chief communications officer at SurveyMonkey. “Understanding the current anxieties of adults around the world is critical for governments to boost confidence in the economy and better equip people for retirement.”
CNBC will provide in-depth reporting about the survey’s key findings for its U.S. and global audiences across all platforms, with insights from its Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board members. In addition, CNBC’s reporting will be available to Spanish-language audiences on CNBC en Español, Noticias Telemundo, Telemundo owned station websites, plus Telemundo’s El Poder En Ti, the network’s community-facing website that informs and educates Spanish-speaking audiences. Subscribers to CNBC’s “Money 101” and “Dinero 101” newsletters will receive a special newsletter in April focused on the survey’s findings.
This SurveyMonkey study was conducted March 18-25, 2024 among a global sample 4,342 adults, including 498 adults in the U.S., 503 adults in Australia, 493 adults in France, 482 adults in Germany, 500 adults in Mexico, 482 adults in Singapore, 479 adults in Spain, 406 adults in Switzerland, and 499 adults in the UK.
The survey was conducted in Spanish in Mexico, Spanish/English in Spain, French/English in France, German/English in Germany, German/English/French in Switzerland, Chinese/English in Singapore and English in the U.S. and Australia.
Respondents for this survey were selected from a non-probability online panel. The modeled error estimate for this survey is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points for France, Australia, the U.S., the UK, Singapore, Mexico, Germany, Spain, and 5.0 percentage points for Switzerland. Data have been balanced for age and gender using demographic data from the United Nations to reflect demographic composition of each country.
Sourcing: All references, in verbal and written form, should be sourced as “CNBC|SurveyMonkey Your Money International Financial Security Survey”
This announcement follows the unveiling of a new bilingual social-first financial literacy month campaign from CNBC and NBCUniversal’s iconic and award-winning The More You Know acclaimed public service initiative that features CNBC’s talent roster from its Business Day, CNBC en Español, and CNBC Make It – the network’s popular financial wellness site that helps educate and inspire individuals with practical financial literacy information and tips. This is the first time that CNBC reveals a social-first campaign to reach Spanish-speakers directly. The campaign went live in early April and will run all month across CNBC & The More You Know’s social channels. As part of its Financial Literacy Month efforts, CNBC recently welcomed new members to its Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board to help CNBC empower, uplift, and prepare the next generation of audiences for a global economy.
See below for key survey findings:
Inflation is the leading financial stressor among adults globally
Half of all adults who consider themselves middle class also report getting by paycheck to paycheck
More say they are financially worse off than their parents at the same age in most countries, especially in Europe
Most turn to their personal savings for financial security, while also relying on their retirement plans and community
Most adults expect to rely on the government to some degree in retirement, despite varying degrees of confidence in the government’s ability
To access CNBC’s financial literacy and personal finance coverage, please visit cnbc.com/your-money.
About SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is a global leader in online surveys and forms that empowers people with the insights they need to make decisions with speed and confidence. Our fast, intuitive feedback management platform connects millions of users worldwide with real-time AI-powered insights that drive meaningful decisions. We provide answers to more than 20 million questions every day so that people and organizations can attract new audiences, delight customers, create advocates, and extend their competitive advantage in the marketplace. Our vision is to raise the bar for human experiences by amplifying individual voices. Learn more at surveymonkey.com.
About CNBC
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business content consumed by more than 355 million people per month across all platforms. The network’s 14 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 5:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC’s global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of new reality programming, CNBC’s highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.
CNBC also offers content through its vast portfolio of digital products such as: CNBC.com, which provides real-time financial market news and information to CNBC’s investor audience; CNBC Make It, a digital destination focused on making you smarter about how you earn, save and spend your money; CNBC PRO, a premium service that provides in-depth access to Wall Street; a suite of CNBC mobile apps for iOS and Android devices; Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri voice interfaces; and streaming services including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Samsung Smart TVs. To learn more, visit https://www.cnbc.com/digital-products/.
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For more information contact:
CNBC
Jennifer Dauble
201-735-4721
CNBC
Stephanie Hirlemann
201-397-2838
SurveyMonkey