Police Family Finance Index (PFFI) 2025

Thank you for taking part in our Police Family Finance Index (PFFI) Survey. The research aims to identify and measure critical financial challenges facing the Police Family and establish an ongoing measure to enable comparison over time. It is intended to highlight key themes to inform policy development and provide guidance for areas of financial well-being support.

You have the option to remain anonymous when completing this survey. Any respondent quotes used in the survey report will be anonymised.

If you would like to enter the Prize Draw to win one of ten £100 amazon.co.uk gift cards, please enter your email address at the end of the survey.

If you have any questions about this research or you would like to discuss previous findings from this research please contact martin.bellingham@mpfs.org.uk.

Question Title

* 1. Do you have any financial concerns at this time?

Yes

Don’t know

Question Title

* 2. On a scale of 0 to 10, how confident do you feel managing your money where 0 is not at all confident and 10 is completely confident?

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

Question Title

* 3. On a scale of 0 to 10, how satisfied are you with your overall financial circumstances where 0 is not at all satisfied and 10 is completely satisfied?

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

Question Title

* 4. How well are you keeping up with bills and credit commitments at the moment? Are you… (Please tick one)

keeping up with all bills and commitments without any difficulties

keeping up with all bills and commitments, but it is a struggle from time to time

keeping up with all bills and commitments, but it is a constant struggle

falling behind with some bills or credit commitments

having real financial problems and have fallen behind with many bills or credit commitments

Not applicable - don’t have any bills or credit commitments

Don’t know

Prefer not to say

Question Title

* 5. Imagine you/you and your partner have to pay an unexpected bill within the next seven days from today.

What is the biggest bill you/you and your partner could pay, either from money you already have, or money you could easily borrow in a way that you consider affordable?

If you don’t know the exact amount your best guess is fine.

None – I couldn’t pay an unexpected bill

£50

£100

£300

£500

£1,000

£2,500

£5,000

£10,000

Don’t know

Prefer not to say

Question Title

* 6. Which of these, best describes how often you usually save money?

Every month

Most months

Some months, but not others

Rarely/never

Don’t know

Question Title

* 7. How often do you use a credit card, overdraft or borrow money to buy food or pay bills because you’ve run short of money ?

Very often

Fairly often

Sometimes

Not very often

Never

Don’t Know

Question Title

* 8. If you lost your main source of household income, how long could your household continue to cover living expenses without having to borrow any money or ask for help from friends or family?

Less than a week

More than one week but less than a month

More than a month but less than three months

More than three months but less than six months

Six months or longer

Don’t Know/ prefer not to say

Question Title

* 9. On a scale of 0 to 10, how satisfied are you with your job in the Police, where 0 is not at all satisfied and 10 is completely satisfied?

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

Question Title

* 10. On a scale of 0 to 10, how satisfied are your family with your job in the Police, where 0 is not at all satisfied and 10 is completely satisfied?

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

Question Title

* 11. Please rate the level of morale for each of the following

	Very low	Low	Neither high nor low	High	Very high
Your own morale	Your own morale Very low	Your own morale Low	Your own morale Neither high nor low	Your own morale High	Your own morale Very high
Morale in your force	Morale in your force Very low	Morale in your force Low	Morale in your force Neither high nor low	Morale in your force High	Morale in your force Very high
Morale in the whole police service	Morale in the whole police service Very low	Morale in the whole police service Low	Morale in the whole police service Neither high nor low	Morale in the whole police service High	Morale in the whole police service Very high

Question Title

* 12. Thinking about your overall wellbeing, in the last year, how frequently have you …

	Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
Found your work to be emotionally exhausting?	Found your work to be emotionally exhausting? Always	Found your work to be emotionally exhausting? Often	Found your work to be emotionally exhausting? Sometimes	Found your work to be emotionally exhausting? Rarely	Found your work to be emotionally exhausting? Never
Felt fatigue or physically exhausted by work?	Felt fatigue or physically exhausted by work? Always	Felt fatigue or physically exhausted by work? Often	Felt fatigue or physically exhausted by work? Sometimes	Felt fatigue or physically exhausted by work? Rarely	Felt fatigue or physically exhausted by work? Never
Felt stressed about your financial situation?	Felt stressed about your financial situation? Always	Felt stressed about your financial situation? Often	Felt stressed about your financial situation? Sometimes	Felt stressed about your financial situation? Rarely	Felt stressed about your financial situation? Never
Come to work even though you did not feel well enough to perform your duties?	Come to work even though you did not feel well enough to perform your duties? Always	Come to work even though you did not feel well enough to perform your duties? Often	Come to work even though you did not feel well enough to perform your duties? Sometimes	Come to work even though you did not feel well enough to perform your duties? Rarely	Come to work even though you did not feel well enough to perform your duties? Never
Found it difficult to empathise with colleagues or family due to the demands of your job?	Found it difficult to empathise with colleagues or family due to the demands of your job? Always	Found it difficult to empathise with colleagues or family due to the demands of your job? Often	Found it difficult to empathise with colleagues or family due to the demands of your job? Sometimes	Found it difficult to empathise with colleagues or family due to the demands of your job? Rarely	Found it difficult to empathise with colleagues or family due to the demands of your job? Never
Found it difficult to empathise with victims of crime due to the demands of your job?	Found it difficult to empathise with victims of crime due to the demands of your job? Always	Found it difficult to empathise with victims of crime due to the demands of your job? Often	Found it difficult to empathise with victims of crime due to the demands of your job? Sometimes	Found it difficult to empathise with victims of crime due to the demands of your job? Rarely	Found it difficult to empathise with victims of crime due to the demands of your job? Never
Felt burnt out because of your job?	Felt burnt out because of your job? Always	Felt burnt out because of your job? Often	Felt burnt out because of your job? Sometimes	Felt burnt out because of your job? Rarely	Felt burnt out because of your job? Never

Question Title

* 13. Did you miss any payments on any financial obligations in the last 12 months?

Yes

Don’t know

Question Title

* 14. Have you considered stopping paying your Federation/Union subscriptions due to financial pressures in the past 12 months?

Yes, I considered it but I’m still paying

Yes, I considered it and I stopped paying

Don’t know

Not relevant

Question Title

* 15. Have you considered stopping paying into your Police pension due to financial pressures in the past 12 months?

Yes, I considered it but I’m still paying

Yes, I considered it and I stopped paying

Don’t know

Not relevant

Question Title

* 16. Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with each of the following?

	Very dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Satisfied	Very satisfied	N/A
Your basic pay	Your basic pay Very dissatisfied	Your basic pay Dissatisfied	Your basic pay Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Your basic pay Satisfied	Your basic pay Very satisfied	Your basic pay N/A
Your allowances	Your allowances Very dissatisfied	Your allowances Dissatisfied	Your allowances Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Your allowances Satisfied	Your allowances Very satisfied	Your allowances N/A
Your overall remuneration (pay and allowances)	Your overall remuneration (pay and allowances) Very dissatisfied	Your overall remuneration (pay and allowances) Dissatisfied	Your overall remuneration (pay and allowances) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Your overall remuneration (pay and allowances) Satisfied	Your overall remuneration (pay and allowances) Very satisfied	Your overall remuneration (pay and allowances) N/A

Question Title

* 17. Do you consider yourself to be in significant debt outside of a mortgage?

Yes

Rather not say

Don’t know

Question Title

* 18. Do you consider yourself to be in significant debt when including your mortgage/rent payments?

Yes

Rather not say

Don't know

Question Title

* 19. After all of your bills and expenses have been paid, how much do you typically have left at the end of an average month?

Less than £0

Between £0 and £99

Between £100 and £299

Between £300 and £499

Between £500 and £999

Over £1,000

Question Title

* 20. What do you mainly do with any money you have left in your current account at the end of the month? Please just select one answer.

Leave it in current account

Spend it

Put it into a savings account i.e. this account will pay interest and has no capital risk

Put it into an investment account i.e. this account aims to deliver capital growth and contains some element of capital risk

Leave it in current account and then put it into savings account / investments

Keep it in purse / wallet for the next week / month

Save it in cash at home

Give it to someone else to save for me

Give it away

Depends on amount left over / varies too much to say

Something else

Question Title

* 21. How much on average, do you save every month?

Less than £50

£50 to £99

£100 to £149

£150 to £199

£200 to £249

£250 to £299

£300 to £349

£350 to £399

£400 to £499

£500 to £599

Over £600

Question Title

* 22. In the last 12 months have you not eaten due to lack of money?

Yes

Rather not say

Question Title

* 23. Have you or any other family members that you live with, accessed a food bank in the last 12 months?

Yes

Rather not say

Question Title

* 24. If you have answered "yes" to any of the above questions, please tell us the reasons for your answer. Please also include details on what single biggest change would improve your personal situation.

Question Title

* 25. How has the financial situation of your household changed over the last 12 months?

Got a lot better

Better

Same

Worse

Got a lot worse

Question Title

* 26. Thinking back over the last 12 months, has anything in the wider world, or outside your household, influenced your decisions on pensions, savings or investments?

Yes