Deliberate planning, not income size, separates confident households from anxious ones, according to FWD Philippines, which framed its latest findings as a call for stronger financial preparation across every age bracket. The insurer said real security means a family can absorb a sudden medical bill or a lost job without financial collapse.
That gap between coping and confidence sits at the center of FWD Philippines’ Filipino Financial Confidence Report 2026. Just 32 percent of those surveyed described themselves as financially confident. The remaining 68 percent reported ongoing money-related anxiety, which researchers characterized as a sustained state rather than a passing reaction to economic shocks, driven partly by households carrying financial obligations across multiple generations.
President and CEO Soon Liang Lau argued that endurance by itself falls short. Genuine confidence, he said, means not being “one medical bill or one job loss away from losing everything.”
The pressures show up differently depending on age. Gen X respondents, closest to retirement, voiced some of the sharpest concerns: 82 percent said they had not saved enough to cover a major medical expense, 65 percent expected inflation to eat into their savings, and 57 percent feared healthcare bills would drain their retirement funds.
Millennials described being pulled in several directions at once. An overwhelming 91 percent help support their parents financially while raising two children on average. Roughly 61 percent worried about their retirement savings, 53 percent found it hard to set aside an emergency fund, and 73 percent said they put family needs ahead of their own security whenever extra money came in.
Younger respondents reported their own strains. Among Gen Z, 64 percent named the climbing cost of living a serious concern and 62 percent described burnout or job-related stress, yet 39 percent still felt hopeful about the years ahead. Half of this group, 51 percent, viewed conventional insurance as out of reach on price, and 20 percent said financial products were too confusing to navigate.
Across all groups, immediate bills tend to crowd out longer-range moves. Because everyday costs require cash right away, the report noted, goals such as saving, investing, and buying insurance frequently get set aside.
Even so, what people say they want leans toward steadiness over riches. Securing lasting financial security for their families over the next two to three years topped the list at 56 percent. Building an emergency fund followed at 52 percent, while 45 percent pointed to financial independence and an equal share to fully covering their children’s schooling.
The strain traces back to a familiar culprit. Rising living costs ranked as the leading financial burden for 74 percent of respondents, placing inflation above every other worry. Medical emergencies and healthcare expenses came next at 52 percent, and 34 percent said they feared outliving whatever retirement money they managed to set aside.Rising prices leave most Filipino families struggling to save, FWD report finds
