A major new consumer survey from the Financial Conduct Authority has revealed that 7.8m people are finding it hard to keep up with their bills - up 2.5m since 2020. 

An even bigger number, 12.9m or 1 in 4 adults, say they have "low financial resilience."

Some 31.9m (60% of adults) are worried about paying their bills, up 6m since 2020.

The figures suggest the cost of living crisis will hit many millions of consumers hard this winter.

One in four adults say they are already in financial difficulty or could quickly find themselves in difficulty if they suffer a financial shock.

Some 4.2m people have missed bills or loan payments in at least three of the six months before the Financial Lives survey took place between February and June. 

The FCA says it has responded to the cost of living crisis in line with its 3-year strategy to prevent “serious harm” and set higher standards. 

Key survey findings include: 

• 7.8m are finding it a “heavy burden” to keep up with their bills, up from 5.3m in 2020  
• 31.9m people (60% of all UK adults) across are finding it a 'heavy burden' or 'somewhat of a burden' to keep up with their bills, an increase of 6m people since 2020   
• 12.9m UK adults now have low financial resilience – 1 in 4 (24%) of all UK adults – up more than 2m on 2020 (10.7m). 

Earlier this year the regulator told thousands of lenders how it expects them to support customers in financial difficulty and took action with more than 30 firms to make sure customers get the help they need.  

The FCA also recently warned insurers to protect their customers from unnecessary add-ons and unfair penalties and says its Consumer Duty - which will affect financial advisers and financial providers - will set a “higher level of consumer protection” and require firms to put their customers’ needs first. 

Sheldon Mills, executive director, consumer and competition said: “Our research shows that people up and down the country are struggling to keep up with their bills.” 

The FCA has recommended that people in difficult talk to their providers in the first instance and use the MoneyHelper service for tips on living on a “squeezed income” and to find free, expert debt advice. 

The survey also found that people living in the most deprived areas of the UK are nearly seven times as likely to be in financial difficulty compared to those living in the least deprived areas. It also found that 12% of people in the North East and 10% in the North West are in financial difficulty, while only 6% of people in the South East and South West were in the same position. 

Tracy Crookes, a Financial Planner at Quilter, said: “The Financial Lives Survey from the FCA shows just how precarious household finances were earlier this year, and that the situation is likely to have only deteriorated since then as cost-of-living pressures intensify. Pandemic savings have acted as a buffer, but are likely to be getting eaten into at an alarming rate, and with a quarter of adults having low financial resilience, we are walking into a ticking timebomb.

“According to the FCA, 24 million people are already finding it a burden keeping up with rising bills and credit commitments – a staggering statistic that suggests this crisis is hitting a large part of society hard. 

“The impact of the pandemic has only made these statistics worse and point to a necessity to take long term action that gets to the root cause if we are truly to increase financial wellbeing within the nation. It remains absurd that financial education is still not recognised as a vital part of the UK primary school curriculum. The younger we can ingrain positive personal finance habits, the better society will be prepared for the next crisis.”

• The FCA Financial Lives survey interviewed more than 19,000 people between February and June 2022. The full findings will be published in early 2023.