Chris Lees, Senior Research Officer, and Becca Stacey, Senior Research Officer, Money and Mental Health

20 March 2024

This report, which is sponsored by Barclays, looks at the impact of struggling with financial and mental health difficulties over time. It shows that when we experience mental health problems on a long term basis it makes it more likely that we will also experience financial difficulty, and vice versa.

Looking at the period from 2019 to 2022, our findings reveal that people who experienced long-term mental health problems were 9.3 times more likely to report finding it difficult to manage financially, compared with those who have never experienced a mental health problem. 

Similarly, when an individual struggles with long-term financial difficulties, they are 5.5 times more likely to experience a mental health problem, compared to those who did not report any financial difficulty. 

We’re calling for cross-government and cross-sector actions to improve preventative support and to help more people avoid the long-term cycle of mental health problems and financial difficulties. Our recommendations include: 

• The creation of a cross-government taskforce to put stronger preventative measures in place and deliver a joined-up approach between money and mental health support. 
• The integration of money advice services within NHS Talking Therapies. 
• Stronger partnerships, referrals and data-sharing across these sectors to help better identify people at risk of money and mental health problems, and connect them with support quicker. 

Read the full report here.

Read the methodology.

This report was sponsored by Barclays. It represents the research and views solely of the authors and of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and does not represent the views or experiences of Barclays.