London, Weds 22 April 2026: New research from Octopus Money reveals that employees in their 40s and 50s are under greater financial pressure than at any other point in their lives, yet many are hiding it from their employers.
A survey of 2,000 UK parents aged 45-65 found that almost one in five midlife employees say financial stress is affecting their performance at work.(1) Yet only 29% would feel comfortable raising it with their employer or colleagues.
The scale of the squeeze
The cause is a “mid-life money squeeze”: workers sandwiched between financially dependent adult children and ageing parents who need increasing support; combined costs that average £3,498 a year. The research pinpoints age 43 as the age when pressures peak, exactly when these employees are becoming most valuable to their organisations.
59% of parents aged 45-65 say midlife is more financially stressful than their 20s. 92% are still contributing financially to their children into adulthood, with nearly one in five believing their children may never become fully financially independent.
For many, financial support doesn’t stop with their children. Almost a third (30%) say they provide financial support for their own parents or parents-in-law, too.
A hidden retention risk
For HR leaders, an immediate concern is retention. Nearly half (48%) of those affected say they would consider changing jobs to earn more if it helped them better support their family.
Financial stress levels remain broadly consistent across salary bands, suggesting it is not necessarily something a pay rise alone will fix. Analysis of nearly 13,000 Octopus Money customers shows that the proportion of people worried about their financial future remains significant for those on higher salary bands: 37% of those earning under £50,000 are concerned, compared with 29% of those earning between £50,000 and £100,000.(3)
Tom Francis, Head of Personal Finance at Octopus Money commented: “The impact of supporting two generations at once is not just financial, but emotional. What strikes me most is that it is affecting performance at work, yet few would feel comfortable raising it with their employer. That silence is costing both employees and businesses.
We see that too many employees are in the dark about the money basics, starting with something as fundamental as how much they have in their pension. Financial wellbeing support at this stage of life should not be seen as a perk. For many, it is the difference between staying in control of their future plans and falling behind at a point when the pressure is coming from all sides.”
Gethin Nadin, Chief Innovation Officer at Benifex, best-selling HR author, and a leading advocate for financial wellbeing at work, said: “Financial stress is a well-documented cause of lost productivity, poor decision-making and unwanted attrition. Yet most organisations are still treating it as a personal problem for employees to solve on their own time. This research shows that the pressure is landing hardest at exactly the point in people’s careers when businesses need them most. HR leaders who are serious about performance and retention cannot afford to ignore what is happening in their employees’ financial lives outside of work.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Research conducted by Opinium, among a sample of 2,000 Nat Rep UK parents aged 45-65. The data was collected between 18.02.26 and 02.03.26.
- hrzone.com/the-retention-race-why-its-harder-than-ever-to-retain-employees/
- Octopus Money aggregated data collected since 2022, based on nearly 13,000 employees.
- Octopus Money aggregated data collected since 2022, based on employees signed up to Octopus Money from 22 legal and financial services organisations.
Octopus Money is a new kind of financial wellbeing benefit – combining the best of humanity, smart technology and investment expertise. We work with 265 UK employers across more than 40 sectors to give people access to one-to-one, personalised financial help through their workplace.
After just three sessions, 61% of employees say they worry about money less often, and customers working with Octopus Money are on track to retire £300,000 better off.
Part of the Octopus Group, winner of Boring Money’s Low Cost Advice Firm of the Year and a certified B Corp, Octopus Money is committed to doing the right thing for customers, advisers and the future we all share.