New analysis from PayPlan, one of the UK’s largest debt advice providers, has found that the average person seeking debt advice in 2026 is juggling 10 separate unsecured debts (such as credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts) totalling £22,717, and is left with just £194 a month once essential living costs are met.
The findings, drawn from 24,406 people advised by PayPlan recorded between January and September 2026, challenge the assumption that problem debt is driven by people being out of work. Almost seven in ten (69%) of PayPlan’s customers are in full-time employment, with a further 19% working part-time, meaning nearly nine in ten are in work. The vast majority (88%) are PAYE employees.
Their average gross income is £24,246, meaning many are earning close to, but still below, the annual equivalent of both the UK real Living Wage (£26,228) and the London Living Wage (£28,860). Therefore, with an average monthly surplus of £202, many people in the UK have little realistic capacity to save. Almost one in five Payplan customers (17%) have £50 or less left each month, including 11% whose outgoings already exceed their income.
The data also points to a squeezed-middle generation. Millennials make up 49% of everyone PayPlan has advised this year (close to half) and the average age at referral is 40.7. More than half (55%) rent, and 28% own their homes. The cohort typically expected to be building a deposit or topping up a pension is instead, on average, £22,717 in debt.
Nor is problem debt confined to large households. Almost half (46%) of Payplan customers are single, and 51% have no children under 18, underlining that a single income and a single set of bills offers no protection.
Payplan customers’ most cited reason for falling into debt is the increased cost of living (27%), followed by a reduction in income (17%), illness or injury (13%) and separation or divorce (11%), pointing to income shocks and rising bills rather than overspending as the dominant drivers.
Rachel Duffey, CEO at PayPlan, said:
“There is still a stubborn myth that problem debt happens to people who don’t work or don’t budget. Our data says the opposite. The typical person coming to us this year is 40, in a full-time PAYE job, renting, and left with £194 at the end of the month. They are not overspending – they have been overtaken by the cost of living, a drop in income or an illness they didn’t plan for.
“What that leaves is a generation locked out of saving entirely. Without a buffer, a broken boiler or a car repair becomes credit, and credit becomes the next debt. The evidence is clear that even modest savings dramatically reduce the risk of falling behind, so the answer isn’t to tell people to save more – it’s to make saving something small, automatic and achievable.”