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We administered the FINRA Foundation's National Financial Capability Study questionnaire to members of the RAND American Life Panel in 2012 and 2018. Using this unique, longitudinal data set, we investigate the evolution of financial literacy over time and shed light on the effect of financial knowledge on financial outcomes. Over a six-year observation period, financial literacy appears to be rather stable, with a slight tendency to decline at older ages. Importantly, financial literacy has significant predictive power for future financial outcomes, even after controlling for baseline outcomes and a wide set of demographics and individual characteristics that influence financial decision making.

We study the rapidly growing literature on the causal effects of financial education programs in a meta-analysis of 76 randomized experiments with a total sample size of over 160,000 individuals. Many of these experiments are published in top economics and finance journals. The evidence shows that financial education programs have, on average, positive causal treatment effects on financial knowledge and downstream financial behaviors. Treatment effects are economically meaningful in size, similar to those realized by educational interventions in other domains, and robust to accounting for publication bias in the literature. We also discuss the cost-effectiveness of financial education interventions.

This article provides an in-depth examination of the financial well-being of Black and Hispanic women and the factors contributing to that well-being, using the 2018 survey wave of the National Financial Capability Study. The article documents meaningful differences between Black and Hispanic women versus White women; the former are more likely to face economic challenges that depress financial well-being. Controlling for differences in sociodemographic characteristics, important dissimilarities distinguish the factors that contribute to financial well-being for Black and Hispanic women compared to White women—including the distinct impacts of education, family structure, employment, and financial literacy. The results imply that extant financial education programs inadequately address the needs of Black and Hispanic women. TOPICS:Wealth management, legal/regulatory/public policy Key Findings ▪ We explore the factors shaping financial well-being with a special focus on Black and Hispanic women between the ages of 22 and 60, in the 2018 National Financial Capability Study. ▪ Differences in demographic factors contribute to FWB across race and ethnicity, including education, family structure, employment, and financial literacy, provide insight into why subjective FWB scores do not appear to differ across race and ethnicity, despite objective measures, such as borrowing behavior, indicating strong differences. ▪ Our findings lead us to conclude that a “one size fits all” approach is unlikely to address differences in financial well-being across the board and, in particular, across sub-groups of women.

We introduce a novel survey measure of attitude towards debt. Matching our survey results with panel data on Swedish household balance sheets from registry data, we show that our measure of debt at ...

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the US economy was closed to limit the virus's spread, and several emergency interventions were implemented. Our analysis of older (45-75) respondents fielded in April-May of 2020 indicates that about 1 in 5 respondents was financially fragile and would have difficulty facing a midsize emergency expense. Some subgroups were at particular risk of facing financial difficulties, especially younger respondents, those with larger families, Hispanics, and those with low income. Moreover, the more financially literate were better able to handle such shocks, indicating that knowledge can provide some additional protection during a pandemic.

The United States’ 44 million African–Americans account for 13% of the US population and have a significant impact on the economy, with $1.2 trillion in purchases annually. Yet the financial well-being of African–Americans lags that of the US population as a whole, and whites in particular. The reasons for these gaps are complex, but one area of importance in addressing them is increased financial literacy, the knowledge and understanding that enable sound financial decision-making and effective management of personal finances. This report uses the 2019 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) to examine the current state of financial literacy and financial wellness among African–American adults. The study finds that personal finance knowledge among African–American adults lags that of whites. Further, it varies across demographic groups within the African–American population, with greater financial literacy among men, older individuals, those with more formal education, and those with higher incomes. Insuring, comprehending risk, investing, and identifying go-to information sources are the areas where personal finance knowledge is lowest; borrowing and debt management is the area of highest personal finance knowledge. There is a strong link between financial literacy and financial wellness among African–Americans. Those who are more financially literate are more likely to plan and save for retirement, to have non-retirement savings, and to better manage their debt; they are also less likely to be financially fragile. A more refined understanding of financial literacy among African–Americans can inform initiatives to improve financial well-being. While not a cure-all, increased financial literacy can lead to improved financial capability and practices that benefit even those with relatively low incomes. TOPICS:Wealth management, retirement Key Findings • Personal finance knowledge among African–Americans is low and lags that of whites. African–American financial literacy tends to be lowest in the areas of insuring, comprehending risk, investing, and go-to information sources. • Financial literacy varies across demographic groups within the African–American population; it is higher among men, older individuals, those with more formal education and higher incomes. • There is a strong link between financial literacy and financial wellness among African–Americans. Those who are more financially literate are more likely to plan and save for retirement, to have non-retirement savings, and to better manage their debt; they are also less likely to be financially fragile.

We track low-income respondents in the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study for 23 years, to observe how their financial situations unfolded as they aged. We document that (a) real incomes remained relatively stable as individuals entered retirement and progressed through their later years; and (b) labor force participation declined and thus earnings became less important with age, while Social Security and retirement savings rose as a proportion of annual income. Low-income people near retirement also tended to fare poorly during retirement.

We analyze older individuals’ debt and financial vulnerability using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS). Specifically, in the HRS we examine three different cohorts (individuals age 56–61) in 1992, 2004, and 2010 to evaluate cross-cohort changes in debt over time. We also use two waves of the NFCS (2012 and 2015) to gain additional insights into debt management and older individuals’ capacity to shield themselves against shocks. We show that recent cohorts have taken on more debt and face more financial insecurity, mostly due to having purchased more expensive homes with smaller down payments.

We measure financial literacy using questions assessing basic knowledge of four fundamental concepts in financial decision making: knowledge of interest rates, interest compounding, inflation, and risk diversification. Worldwide, just one in three adults are financially literate—that is, they know at least three out of the four financial concepts. Women, poor adults, and lower educated respondents are more likely to suffer from gaps in financial knowledge. This is true not only in developing countries but also in countries with well‐developed financial markets. Relatively low financial literacy levels exacerbate consumer and financial market risks as increasingly complex financial instruments enter the market. Credit products, many of which carry high interest rates and complex terms and conditions, are becoming more readily available. Yet only around half of adults in major emerging countries who use a credit card or borrow from a financial institution are financially literate. We discuss policies to protect borrowers against risks and encourage account holders to save.

We examine respondents in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to observe how their financial situations unfolded as they aged. We focus on low income older adults and follow them over time to identify the factors associated with having low income at baseline and thereafter. We find that (a) real income remained relatively stable as individuals approach and enter retirement, and progress through their retirement years, and (b) labor force participation declined and thus earnings became less important with age, while Social Security and retirement savings rose as a proportion of annual income. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Women are less financially literate than men. It is unclear whether this gap reflects a lack of knowledge or, rather, a lack of confidence. Our survey experiment shows that women tend to disproportionately respond "do not know" to questions measuring financial knowledge, but when this response option is unavailable, they often choose the correct answer. We estimate a latent class model and predict the probability that respondents truly know the correct answers. We find that about one-third of the financial literacy gender gap can be explained by women's lower confidence levels. Both financial knowledge and confidence explain stock market participation.

We examine gender differences in financial literacy among high school students in Italy using data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Gender differences in financial literacy are large among the young in Italy. They are present in all regions and are particularly severe in the South and the Islands. Combining the rich PISA data with a variety of other indicators, we provide a thorough analysis of the potential determinants of the gender gap in financial literacy. We find that parental background, in particular the role of mothers, matters for the financial knowledge of girls. Moreover, we show that the social and cultural environment in which girls and boys live plays a crucial role in explaining gender differences. We also show that history matters: Medieval commercial hubs and the nuclear family structure created conditions favorable to the transformation of the role of women in society, and shaped gender differences in financial literacy as well We examine gender differences in financial literacy among high school students in Italy using data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Gender differences in financial literacy are large among the young in Italy. They are present in all regions and are particularly severe in the South and the Islands. Combining the rich PISA data with a variety of other indicators, we provide a thorough analysis of the potential determinants of the gender gap in financial literacy. We find that parental background, in particular the role of mothers, matters for the financial knowledge of girls. Moreover, we show that the social and cultural environment in which girls and boys live plays a crucial role in explaining gender differences. We also show that history matters: Medieval commercial hubs and the nuclear family structure created conditions favorable to the transformation of the role of women in society, and shaped gender differences in financial literacy as well. We discuss the changes that are needed to close the gap in financial knowledge among the young.

We examine respondents in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to observe how their financial situations unfolded as they aged. We focus on low-income older adults and follow them over time to identify the factors associated with having low income at baseline and thereafter. We find that (a) real income remained relatively stable as individuals approached and entered retirement, and progressed through their retirement years, and (b) labor force participation declined and thus earnings became less important with age, while Social Security and retirement savings rose as a proportion of annual income.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the US economy was closed to limit the virus’ spread, and several emergency interventions were implemented. Our analysis of older (45-75) respondents fielded in April-May of 2020 indicates that about one in five respondents was financially fragile and would have difficulty facing a mid-size emergency expense. Some subgroups were at particular risk of facing financial difficulties, especially younger respondents, those with larger families, Hispanics, and the low income. Moreover, the more financially literate were better able to handle such shocks, indicating that knowledge can provide some additional protection during a pandemic.

Poor financial capability can erode well-being in later life. To explore debt and debt management among older Americans, age 51-61, we designed and analyzed a new module in the 2018 Health and Retirement Study along with information from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study. Even though this group should be at the peak of their retirement savings, it nevertheless carries debt due to student loans and unpaid medical bills; having children also contributes to carrying debt close to retirement. By contrast, the financially literate have more positive financial perceptions and behaviors. Specifically, being able to answer one additional financial literacy question correctly is associated with a higher probability of reporting an above average credit record and planning for retirement. Higher financial literacy is also linked to being less likely to carry excessive debt, being contacted by debt collectors, and carrying medical debt or student loans, even after accounting for a large range of demographics and other characteristics. Evidently, financial knowledge can help limit debt exposure at older ages.

Around the world, people nearing and entering retirement are holding ever-greater levels of debt than in the past. This is not a benign situation, as many pre-retirees and retirees are stressed about their indebtedness. Moreover, this growth in debt among the older population may render retirees vulnerable to financial shocks, medical care bills, and changes in interest rates. Contributors to this volume explore key aspects of the rise in debt across older cohorts, drill down into the types of debt and reasons for debt incurred by the older population, and review policies to remedy some of the financial problems facing older persons, in the United States and elsewhere. The authors explore which groups are most affected by debt, and they also identify the factors producing this important increase in leverage at older ages.

Our chapter aims to analyze debt among pre-retirees and its implications for retirement well-being using data from three waves of the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS). In particular, we will analyze what kinds of debt people carry into older ages and how different types of debt are related to older Americans’ ability to save for retirement. Moreover, we will investigate older Americans’ understanding of debt and its consequences by analyzing their level of financial sophistication. For instance, managing debt can be especially difficult for people who do not know the power of interest compounding or do not have the financial savvy to plan for retirement or execute a retirement saving plan. Our analysis is intended to better guide financial sector practitioners as well as policymakers seeking to help older Americans better prepare for retirement and sustain a reasonable standard of living in retirement.

We administered the FINRA Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study questionnaire to members of the RAND American Life Panel (ALP) in 2012 and 2018. Using this unique, longitudinal data set, we investigate the evolution of financial literacy over time and shed light on the causal effect of financial knowledge on financial outcomes. Over a six-year observation period, financial literacy appears to be rather stable, with a slight tendency to decline at older ages. Moreover and importantly, financial literacy has significant predictive power for future financial outcomes, even after controlling for baseline outcomes and a wide set of demographics and individual characteristics that influence financial decision making. This estimated relationship is significantly stronger for older individuals, for women, and for those with lower income than for their counterparts in the study. Altogether, our findings suggest that differences in the stock of financial knowledge may lead to increasing inequality over the life course. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

This article uses data from the 2020 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance (P-Fin) Index to show that many American families were financially fragile well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. economy. Financial fragility is particularly severe among specific demographic groups, such as African-Americans and those with low income. The article also shows that financial fragility is strongly linked to financial literacy and that many Americans are ill-equipped to deal with the financial decisions needed to navigate through a financial crisis. Suggestions are provided to deal with personal finance decisions in times of emergency.

This paper provides an in-depth examination of the financial well-being Black and Hispanic women and the factors contributing to it, using the 2018 wave of the National Financial Capability Study. We document meaningful differences between Black and Hispanic women versus White women, in that the former are more likely to face economic challenges that depress financial well-being. Controlling for differences in socio-demographic characteristics, there are important differences in the factors that contribute to financial well-being for Black and Hispanic women compared to White women. This includes distinct impacts of education, family structure, employment, and financial literacy. Our results imply that extant financial education programs inadequately address the needs of Black and Hispanic women.

We study the rapidly growing literature on the causal effects of financial education programs in a meta-analysis of 76 randomized experiments with a total sample size of over 160,000 individuals. The evidence shows that financial education programs have, on average, positive causal treatment effects on financial knowledge and downstream financial behaviors. Treatment effects are economically meaningful in size, similar to those realized by educational interventions in other domains and are at least three times as large as the average effect documented in earlier work. These results are robust to the method used, restricting the sample to papers published in top economics journals, including only studies with adequate power, and accounting for publication selection bias in the literature. We conclude with a discussion of the cost-effectiveness of financial education interventions.

Poor financial capability can erode well-being in later life. To explore debt and debt management among older Americans, age 51-61, we designed and analyzed a new module in the 2018 Health and Retirement Study along with information from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study. Even though this group should be at the peak of their retirement savings, it nevertheless carries debt due to student loans and unpaid medical bills; having children also contributes to carrying debt close to retirement. By contrast, the financially literate have more positive financial perceptions and behaviors. Specifically, being able to answer one additional financial literacy question correctly is associated with a higher probability of reporting an above average credit record and planning for retirement. Higher financial literacy is also linked to being less likely to carry excessive debt, being contacted by debt collectors, and carrying medical debt or student loans, even after accounting for a large range of demographics and other characteristics. Evidently, financial knowledge can help limit debt exposure at older ages. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

This paper analyzes the financial fragility of Dutch households by examining their ability to raise 2,000 euro within a month in case of a financial emergency. Using data from a survey module fielded in 2016 in the CentERpanel, we document that one in seven Dutch households is financially fragile. Moreover, some demographic groups, specifically females, single person households, renters, low-income households, the lower educated and the unemployed are more likely to be financially fragile. While a majority of households would use their savings to cope with a financial emergency, a noticeable fraction of households would resort to other methods, such as relying on family and friends or borrowing using credit cards. Financial literacy, confidence in financially literacy skills and probability numeracy are all associated with financial fragility as well as with the methods people use to cope with an emergency. These results support previous findings on the importance of financial knowledge and numerical ability for financial decision making.

Retirement investing in the United States has changed dramatically. The classic defined-benefit (DB) plan has largely been replaced by the defined contribution (DC) plan. With the latter, individual employees’ decisions about how much to save for retirement and how to invest those savings determine the benefits available upon retirement. We analyze data from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study to show that people whose only exposure to investment decisions is by virtue of their participation in an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan are poorly equipped to make sound investment decisions. Specifically, they suffer from higher levels of financial illiteracy than other investors. This lack of financial literacy is critical both because of the financial consequences of poor financial decisions and because of a legal structure that relies on participant choice to limit the fiduciary obligations of the employer with respect to the structure and options provided by the retirement plan. In response to this concern, we propose mandated employer-provided financial education to address limited employee financial literacy. We identify and discuss three requirements that a financial education program should incorporate – a self-assessment, minimum substantive components, and timing. Formalizing the employer role in evaluating and increasing financial literacy among plan participants is a key step in providing retirement plan participants with the resources necessary to manage important decisions regarding retirement planning and, ultimately, for enhancing the financial security of American workers.

We document strikingly similar gender differences in financial literacy across countries. When asked to answer questions that measure knowledge of basic financial concepts, women are less likely than men to answer correctly and more likely to indicate that they do not know the answer. In addition, women give themselves lower scores on financial literacy self-assessments than men. Both young and old women show low levels of financial literacy. Moreover, women for whom financial knowledge is likely to be very important—for example widows or single women—know little about concepts relevant for day-to-day financial decisions. Even women in favorable economic conditions are less financially knowledgeable than men. This is important because financial literacy has been linked to economic behavior, including retirement planning and wealth accumulation. Women live longer than men and are likely to spend time in widowhood. As a result, improving women’s financial literacy is key to helping them prepare for retirement and promoting their financial security.

This article uses administrative data on all active employees of the Federal Reserve (FR) System to examine participation in and contributions to the Thrift Saving Plan, the System's defined contribution (DC) plan. We link to administrative records a unique employee survey of economic/demographic factors including a set of financial literacy questions. Not surprisingly, FR employees are substantially more financially literate than the population at large. Most importantly, financially savvy employees are also most likely to participate in their DC plan. Sophisticated workers contribute three percentage points more of their earnings to the DC plan than do the less knowledgeable, and they hold more equity in their pension accounts. We examine changes in employee plan behavior 1 year after employees completed a Learning Module about retirement planning, and we compare it to baseline patterns. We find that those employees who completed the Learning Module were more likely to start contributing and less likely to have stopped contributing to the DC plan postsurvey. In sum, employer-provided learning programs are shown to significantly impact employee retirement saving decisions and consistent with a lot of other research, higher levels of financial literacy are found to have a beneficial impact on retirement saving patterns. (JEL J3, H7)

Prior studies disagree regarding the effectiveness of financial education programs, especially those offered in the workplace. To explain such measurement differences in evaluation and outcomes, we employ a stochastic life cycle model with endogenous financial knowledge accumulation and investigate how financial education programs optimally shape key economic outcomes. This approach permits us to measure how such programs shape wealth accumulation, financial knowledge, and participation in sophisticated assets (e.g. stocks) across heterogeneous consumers. We apply conventional program evaluation econometric techniques to simulated data, distinguishing selection and treatment effects. We show that the more effective programs provide follow-up in order to sustain the knowledge acquired by employees via the program; in such an instance, financial education delivered to employees around the age of 40 can raise savings at retirement by close to 10%. By contrast, one-time education programs do produce short-term but few long-term effects. We also measure how accounting for selection affects estimates of program effectiveness for those who participate. Comparisons of participants and non-participants can be misleading, even using a difference-in-difference strategy when the common-trend assumption is unlikely to hold. Random program assignment is needed to evaluate program effects on those who participate.

Objectives The consequences of poor financial capability at older ages are serious and include making mistakes with credit, spending retirement assets too quickly, and being defrauded by financial predators. Because older persons are at or past the peak of their wealth accumulation, they are often the targets of fraud. Methods Our project analyzes a module we developed and fielded on people aged 50 an older years in the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Using this data set, we evaluated the incidence and prospective risk factors (measured in 2010) for investment fraud and prize/lottery fraud using logistic regression (N = 1,220). Results Relatively few HRS respondents mentioned any single form of fraud over the prior 5 years, but 5.0% reported at least one form of investment fraud and 4.4% recounted prize/lottery fraud. Greater wealth (nonhousing) was associated with investment fraud, whereas lower housing wealth and symptoms of depression were associated with prize/lottery fraud. Hispanics were significantly less likely to report either type of fraud. Other suspected risk factors—low social integration and financial literacy—were not significant. Discussion Fraud is a complex phenomenon and no single factor uniquely predicts victimization across different types, even within the category of investment fraud. Prevention programs should educate consumers about various types of fraud and increase awareness among financial services professionals.