One in ten Gen Z adults are more than £10,000 in debt

21st March 2024

A new survey by credit management company Lowell revealed that British Gen Z adults owe on average £5,069 of debt, with 13% owing more than £10,000, a further 61% of people admitting financial decisions they have made are already starting to affect their future goals.

With almost half (48%) of Gen Z outlining credit card debt as their main debt category, and one in five (19%) outlining buy-now-pay-later. The research also found that requests for a debt repayment break rose by 25% this year

Credit card debt (48%) was the most common debt type for Gen Z, followed by buy now pay later debt (18%), and payday loans (10%) 61% say financial decisions made in their younger years have hindered them in later life prompting Lowell to share tips on keeping on top of debt this Debt Awareness Week.

Commenting on the research John Pears UK CEO of Lowell UK said “Many young people have not had the financial education needed to successfully manage their financial health, resulting in many having already experienced problem debt. Debt Awareness Week, is an important time for raising awareness around the key triggers of problem debt, and encouraging people that they are not alone when dealing with it. Sadly, a worrying amount of people in the UK don’t know how to tackle their debt, and we hope our advice encourages people to take that first step to both acknowledging and dealing with their financial problems. We would also like to remind anyone feeling financial pressures to reach out for support.”