Socio-Economic and Demographic Determinants of Financial Well-Being Disparities in The United Kingdom: Evidence from The Financial Capability Survey (2018)

This study investigates the socio-economic and demographic determinants of financial well-being (FWB) disparities in the United Kingdom using the 2018 Financial Capability Survey (n = 4,492). Financial well-being was operationalised as a three-level ordinal variable (“struggling”, “squeezed”, “cushioned”) derived from a composite satisfaction index. Employing a proportional odds model (POM), the analysis reveals that ethnicity, gender, income, education, employment, region, and marital status significantly predict financial well-being disparities, while age has no statistically significant effect. The findings showed that black respondents (AOR=0.47,95% CI:0.26-0.81) are more likely to belong to lower FWB categories relative to White counterparts and male respondents (AOR=1.40,95% CI:1.19-1.64) are more likely to have higher odds ratio of belonging to higher categories of FWB. Household income was revealed to have a significant progressive increase effect on FWB disparities as the odds ratio of belonging to higher categories of FWB increases as household income increases (range of AOR=1.41-2.88,range of 95% CI:1.12-3.90). Higher education, employment stability, and geographical locations determine FWB outcomes. The findings has revealed the persistent structural inequalities in financial well-being within the UK and suggests the need for targeted policy interventions to promote inclusive financial resilience.