The LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Monitor – a quarterly survey of 4,000+ UK adults – revealed that a rising proportion of adults said their finances had improved over the past three months and expect their finances to improve further over the next three months.

The research also found that there had been a big fall in the proportion of people worried about contracting COVID-19. In March 2021 23% (12.1 million) people said they were worried about contracting the virus compared to 32% (17.1 million) in December 2020.

Clive Bolton, managing director of savings and retirement at LV=, said: “The last three months have been difficult for millions of people, but increasing numbers are becoming more optimistic about the future.

“LV=’s research indicates that although many people are still struggling financially, fewer people are worried about contracting Covid and an increasing proportion expect their finances to improve over the next three months.”