The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center

Happy 4th of July! Today and always, the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center aspires to help individuals achieve financial freedom!

NEW REPORT! Our 2024 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index ( ) has just been released, coinciding with in the U.S.

This 8th edition offers insights into Americans' knowledge of personal finance, showing that respondents correctly answered about half of the 28 survey questions, which has been the norm since the survey began.

Only 16% demonstrated a very high level of financial literacy by correctly answering at least 22 questions, underscoring concerns about people making financial decisions with poor financial literacy. Comprehending risk has consistently been the lowest functional knowledge area. Respondents could correctly answer only 35% of the questions about risk, on average.

The P-Fin Index report also underscores the importance of financial literacy for financial well-being. Compared with those who have a very high level of financial literacy, those with a very low level of financial literacy are twice as likely to be debt-constrained, four times as likely to lack one month of emergency savings, and three times as likely not to have any confidence in their retirement income prospects.

For the first time, our annual report also covered , which measures how much people know about topics such as Social Security, Medicare, and options for retirement savings. Americans correctly answered only 40% of the questions about these topics. This low level of retirement fluency does not bode well for retirement income security.

We will be sharing more findings during . Stay tuned!

It's . Let's talk about money!

We have a full agenda to discuss personal finance, financial education, and financial decision-making during this Financial Literacy Month in the US. We aim to promote changes that are data-driven and research-based.

Today, April 1st, is the first day of the personal finance course at Stanford University, open to all undergraduate students.

On April 10th, we will unveil the latest edition of the TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index.

On April 16th, European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness will join us for our Financial Literacy Colloquium at Stanford GSB and lecture on "Why We Need to Talk About Money: Financial Literacy in the EU."

April 25th and 26th will see our Cherry Blossom Financial Education Institute bloom with us here in the Silicon Valley, where top researchers and emerging scholars will present and discuss cutting-edge research.

Throughout the month, keep an eye out for posts on research findings from our new papers and publications from the Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing.

It is high time to talk about money. Stay tuned for updates!

Make sure to submit your academic paper for the 9th Cherry Blossom Financial Education Institute by February 25. The event is scheduled at Stanford University on April 25–26, 2024. We look forward to reading your papers!

We welcome submissions covering financial literacy, financial education, and personal finance decisions.

We thank the National Endowment for Financial Education for their continued sponsorship of the Institute and for supporting the Financial Literacy Research Award and the Rising Financial Literacy Scholar Award.

Learn more about the event and the awards here: https://gflec.org/event-category/cherry-blossom-financial-education-institute/

Alert.

The 9th Cherry Blossom Financial Education Institute will take place on April 25-26, 2024, at Stanford University—the pioneering academic conference on financial education making its debut on the West Coast.

Submit your papers by February 25, 2024, to become part of an institute modeled after the NBER Summer Institute, dedicated to fostering innovative research on financial education. As in previous editions, we will present the "Financial Literacy Research Award," recognizing the best-submitted paper with a prize of $5,000. Additionally, the "Rising Financial Literacy Scholar Award" will honor the best poster presentation by a PhD student, offering a prize of $1,000.

The Institute aims to provide an ongoing forum for presenting and discussing financial education research, promoting excellent work in this field that informs educational policy and helps identify effective financial education programs. We invite research submissions covering all aspects of financial education, whether in primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, workplaces, or other settings.

The Institute is particularly interested in papers that assess the effectiveness of financial education and its influence on financial behavior and other outcomes. Academic faculty and researchers in economics and related fields studying financial education are encouraged to submit papers. We also welcome the submission of abstracts or papers from advanced PhD students. The program includes a special session dedicated to student research and a poster session.

For more information about the call for papers and the Cherry Blossom Financial Education Institute, visit: https://lnkd.in/diH34ZD

Today marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, a time to honor and celebrate his life and his commitment to advancing racial equality. While recognizing the progress made, there is still a lot of work to be done.

GFLEC's research emphasizes the importance of promoting within the Black American community as a crucial step towards addressing persistent racial disparities in financial well-being.

Explore our research work on enhancing the financial well-being of Black Americans here: https://lnkd.in/dYHFa-B

Financial education research matters. Our Founder and Academic Director, Professor Annamaria Lusardi was interviewed by the National Endowment for Financial Education on why is so important.

She recounts the impact of her research on different stakeholders -from students to policy makers worldwide- and the critical importance of measuring financial literacy.

"My research supports the idea that we should have financial education in high school and that it should be a mandatory requirement to graduate," said Prof. Lusardi.

The interview took place in Denver, Colorado, at NEFE's inaugural Financial Education and Impact Summit (FEII) before her move to Stanford University.

Check out the full interview in this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8_BZa9splA

Happy Holidays from the team!
"Financial literacy’s growing momentum is driven by the work of people around the world—and we are thankful for their contributions. As we celebrate the holidays and look toward 2024, we are inspired by the opportunities that await and grateful to all of you who have supported our new beginnings."
- Annamaria Lusardi

As we celebrate , we would like to express our gratitude to the many individuals and organizations who have contributed to our effort to make a difference in financial literacy and personal finance. Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Deputy Academic Director, Andrea Sticha, recently took the stage as a keynote speaker at the Global Social and Financial Skills Conference in , The Netherlands, organized by Aflatoun International. The event explored the importance of social and financial education for children and youth to empower them to become agents of change for their future.

In the "State of Social & Financial Education" session, Dr. Sticha drew insights from our data and research, including the Global FinLit Survey, the PISA data, and the findings from the meta-analysis of financial education programs.

Her presentation underlined two main messages that we have been advocating at GFLEC: (1) financial literacy is a critical skill for young people in the 21st century, and (2) we need to make financial education mandatory in school.

For more details about the Global Social and Financial Skills Conference and the ongoing journey to transform education, visit the following link: https://ic2023.aflatoun.org

Let's continue Together!

👻 A spooky statistic! 🎃📊

This , we've got a truly frightening fact to share: Did you know that only 1/3 of people around the world are financially literate?

This isn't just a trick but a bone-chilling reality that should give everyone a financial fright this Halloween season. Financial literacy is crucial for making informed decisions about money, investments, and securing your financial future. Without it, you could find yourself in a real-life horror story when managing your finances.

It's time to turn those spooky statistics into a tale of financial empowerment!

A new chapter at Stanford University. At GFLEC, we are excited to announce a transformative milestone: our Founder and Academic Director, Professor Annamaria Lusardi, and our Center will move to Stanford University. Starting this week, we will be part of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB).

Professor Lusardi's passion and dedication have been instrumental in shaping the landscape of financial literacy research. Over the past 11 years, she has led GFLEC at The George Washington University School of Business, pioneering research-based initiatives that have promoted financial education programs, informed policy makers, and empowered individuals to make better financial decisions worldwide. Through her rigorous research and publications, she has contributed to the advancement of financial literacy globally.

As we embark on this new journey, GFLEC expresses gratitude to The George Washington University and GWSB community, supporters, and collaborators who have contributed to the center's success, helping GFLEC become the world's leading incubator for financial literacy research, policy, and programs.

We also want to extend a big thank you to Stanford University's leadership, faculty, and staff for their support in ensuring a smooth transition of our center.

We look forward to the continued growth of financial literacy and financial education under Professor Lusardi's leadership at Stanford University.

Read the SIEPR's announcement here:
https://lnkd.in/gJpEK_Qk

In a recent report written in collaboration with MeemAin Education, we explain how the virtual game "Malee" assesses children's financial literacy based on their in-game actions and decisions. This approach provides a comprehensive and practical evaluation of their financial competencies. The game is based on five key learning objectives that lay the foundation for essential skills, enabling children to develop positive financial habits and more advanced skills.

You can access the full report here: https://bit.ly/3R23ItY

Learn more about MeemAin Education here: http://www.linkedin.com/company/meemainsa

At GFLEC, we are excited to congratulate Professor Annamaria Lusardi, our Funder and Academic Director, as she completed her six-year appointment as the Director of Italy's Financial Education Committee (Comitato Edufin).

Professor Lusardi and the Committee members' dedication has played a vital role in increasing Italy's awareness about the need to promote financial education, always with a research-based approach. Beyond the policy advocacy efforts, Professor Lusardi actively engaged with the media to inspire key stakeholders, policymakers, and citizens, underscoring the urgency of addressing financial literacy.

Reflecting on this journey, Professor Lusardi stated, "It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the Comitato Edufin. Together, we have opened a path for financial education, making sure that it enters into the schools, workplaces, and recreational places, in short, in the homes of Italians and changing the culture towards financial education. Now, 90% of Italians want financial education at school, a figure that alone speaks of the impact of the work of the Committee and the many stakeholders."

The impact of the work done by the Comitato Edufin is evident in the strong demand for financial education among Italians today. We enthusiastically join others in celebrating Professor Lusardi's visionary leadership and congratulating her on this significant accomplishment.

Congratulations, Professor Lusardi, for impacting Italy's financial education landscape!

Global surveys have consistently shown that remains low worldwide among both adults and youth. Building financial knowledge and habits from an early age could potentially improve global financial literacy.

In collaboration with MeemAin Education (http://www.linkedin.com/company/meemainsa), we have published a new report that explores a game-based approach for assessing financial literacy among children aged 7 to 12 years old.

For more details about the research, please visit https://bit.ly/3R23ItY

As part of our work at GFLEC, we have partnered with organizations to review programs and tools to assess their effectiveness and promote financial literacy around the world.

In a new report just released, we partnered with MeemAin Education (http://www.linkedin.com/company/meemainsa) to review “Malee,” a virtual game targeting children aged 7 to 12 years old. The game was developed with the primary goals of assessing financial knowledge, attitudes, and skills.

Check out the findings here: https://bit.ly/3R23ItY

Just released! At The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, we're excited to share the findings of our new report, which delves into a critical aspect of retirement planning that often goes overlooked: .

A staggering number of Americans are unaware of how long people tend to live in retirement, and this lack of longevity literacy may undermine retirement planning and saving, according to our new report, “An Unrecognized Barrier to Retirement Income Security: Poor Longevity Literacy.” The research uses data from the 2023 TIAA Institute–GFLEC Personal Finance (P-Fin) Index survey and expands upon our January report that discussed .

An eye-opening statistic is that nearly 65% of survey respondents did not correctly answer the question about how long a 65-year-old will live, on average. This indicates that many American adults lack a basic understanding of how long people tend to live in retirement.

A narrow slice of the population fully understands longevity: Only 12 percent of Americans correctly answered three questions related to life expectancy of 65-year-olds in the U.S., demonstrating strong literacy. At the other end of the spectrum, nearly a third of respondents demonstrated weak longevity literacy. Most underestimated the number of years spent in retirement.

These findings are important as people with strong longevity literacy are better at calculating how much money they need to live comfortably in their years. They are also more likely to save for retirement and feel confident about their financial security once they stop working.

The report also highlights a key challenge - simply providing information is insufficient. For instance, only one-third of adults understand the practical implications of 'life expectancy.' We must explore innovative ways to teach and reinforce these important concepts.

Ready to explore the full report? Click here: https://bit.ly/45zlMjp

Happy 4th of July! Today and always, aspires to help individuals achieve financial independence and freedom!

First issue of the Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing is now available!

At The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, we are delighted to announce the first issue of the Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing. The journal—the first in the field—spotlights rigorous research that can inform academics, policy makers, and the private sector.

"We are excited about this new academic journal dedicated to a timely, important, and impactful topic. We envision it as the go-to place for the best and most influential research on financial literacy, personal finance, and financial wellbeing. The journal will showcase both theoretical research and empirical work that will advance our understanding of financial literacy and financial decision-making and their impact on society. Have a look at the first issue," said GFLEC Founder and Academic Director Annamaria Lusardi.

Professor Lusardi and Flore-Anne Messy, from the OECD, are co-editors of this new journal.

The inaugural issue includes articles examining the link between financial literacy and financial wellbeing; how financial education can improve citizenship; whether school-based financial education has a spillover effect on parents; and the usefulness of workplace financial education programs. Additional articles look at the effect of financial literacy on the use of financial services and on investments, including mortgages, crypto assets, and stocks.

We are grateful to all those who made the journal possible, including the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), Tim Ranzetta and Next Gen Personal Finance, Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics at SMU, the Institut sur la retraite et l’épargne/Retirement and Savings Institute at HEC Montréal, and the publisher, Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

Click here to read the full issue: https://lnkd.in/ehfjQvyB

Watch the interview with Professor Annamaria Lusardi, co-editor: https://lnkd.in/eyV4ekZS

Our Founder and Academic Director Annamaria Lusardi gave a State of the Art Lecture at the Canadian Economics Association Annual Meeting on "Financial Literacy and Personal Finance - An Overview."

The presentation covered the following topics:

1. Measuring financial literacy
2. Assessing the impact of financial literacy on behavior
3. Using the data and findings to design policy and programs
4. Implications for teaching

You can check the presentation here: https://lnkd.in/eKQd_ZfX



The George Washington University
The George Washington University School of Business

Today, our Founder and Academic Director Annamaria Lusardi will give a State of the Art Lecture at the 57th Canadian Economics Association Annual Meeting on "Financial Literacy and Personal Finance - An Overview."

She will cover the following topics:

1. Measuring financial literacy
2. Assessing the impact of financial literacy on behavior
3. Using the data and findings to design policy and programs
4. Implications for teaching and the field

Learn more about the program of the Conference and the CEA here: https://www.economics.ca/cpages/conference-programme

Stay tuned to our social media channels to learn more about Prof. Lusardi's presentation.



The George Washington University
The George Washington University School of Business

Join us for the last in-person Fed/GFLEC Financial Literacy Seminar of the semester! Distinguished speaker, Ran Abramitzky, Stanford Federal Credit Union Professor of Economics and Senior Associate Dean of the Social Sciences at Stanford University, will discuss his book Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success, and present his new paper, "The Immigrant-Native Incarceration Gap in the United States: 1870–2020."

Register here: https://lnkd.in/dm9M5auJ

The seminar will be held in person on Thursday, May 11, from 3:30 to 5:00 PM at The George Washington University.

The Fed/GFLEC Financial Literacy Seminar Series is a joint initiative of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at The George Washington University School of Business.

Additional information about the seminar series is provided here: https://lnkd.in/dp6ws2T

We look forward to seeing you on May 11!

Talking about finance matters.

We are glad that during Senior Personal Finance Correspondent for CNBC Sharon Epperson mentioned the results from our TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index.

Worrying about money is no big surprise. Knowing the basics of personal finance can empower people to better manage their money. For example, having precautionary savings is crucial to be able to protect ourselves against shocks.

Learn more about this here ➡️ bit.ly/3Ugy5N8 & bit.ly/43gM7m4



The George Washington University School of Business
The George Washington University

Just Released: The New 2023 Report. As inflation hit a 40-year high in 2022, 25% of American workers cut their retirement savings, and 12% stopped saving entirely, according to the 7th annual Personal Finance (P-Fin) Index, a joint initiative of the TIAA Institute and GFLEC.

Hispanic American workers have been impacted the most: 40% decreased the amount they are saving, and 24% stopped saving for retirement in 2022 because of financial pressures created by inflation.

These findings are worrisome because interrupting retirement savings can have long-lasting consequences for retirement security. Employees not only get behind with their regular contributions but also miss out on investment earnings, which can substantially impact the total amount of wealth accumulated for retirement, especially for young workers.

The new data also reveals that financial literacy levels remain low. Over the seven years of the P-Fin Index, a consistent finding is that U.S. adults correctly answered only about half of the 28 financial literacy questions, on average. This low level of financial literacy is troubling since the P-Fin Index measures working knowledge related to financial situations encountered in everyday life. More effort is needed to provide financial education in schools, communities, and the workplace.

“Every year, the P-Fin Index findings are troubling, but this year more than ever, we are seeing how low levels of financial literacy in a volatile economy can lead to problems. We must focus on helping people of all ages, especially those who are the most vulnerable,” said our Founder and Academic Director, Annamaria Lusardi

Click here to get access to the report: https://lnkd.in/eBSxkFgQ


The George Washington University School of Business
The George Washington University

‘Good financial education is essential to make the economy work better.’ With this powerful statement, Chile’s Minister of Finance Mario Marcel set the stage for a very insightful lecture on financial literacy and financial inclusion at The George Washington University School of Business and .

It was a great opportunity for students to learn about Chile’s financial landscape and ask questions to the Minister. Thank you so much for your visit, Minister Marcel!

The lecture will be available on our YouTube channel soon. Stay tuned!


The George Washington University School of Business
The George Washington University

Join us! On April 13, Chile’s Minister of Finance Mario Marcel will be visiting GFLEC at The George Washington University School of Business, where he will give a lecture about financial inclusion and financial education. The session will be open to the public via Zoom. Registration is required.

GFLEC’s Founder and Academic Director Annamaria Lusardi will moderate a discussion with GW students after the lecture.

Minister Marcel joined the Chilean Cabinet in March 2022. In 2016, he was appointed President of the Central Bank of Chile. Previously, he was Director of the Global Good Governance Practice of The World Bank, Deputy Director of Public Governance and Territorial Development of the OECD - OCDE, and Manager of the Department of Institutional Capacity and Finance of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Register to attend the event streaming here: https://lnkd.in/e4C7tnQA


The George Washington University

It’s Financial Literacy Month. Time to celebrate the !

Today, we want to share some takeaways from the newly published paper in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy entitled ‘Resilience and wellbeing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of financial literacy’ by Andrea Hasler, Annamaria Lusardi, Nikhil Yagnik, and Paul Yakoboski.

The pandemic made us more uncertain about how the future would look like. The research, using the 2021 wave of the TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index), showed that financial literacy makes a difference in a time of crisis.

Our findings showed that the most financially literate people are more likely to:
- Spend little time worrying about personal finances
- Be financially resilient
- Plan for retirement, and
- Feel unconstrained by debt

So, the more financially literate you are, the better it will be for you to withstand any crisis along the way.

The new paper is available here ➡️ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278425423000212



The George Washington University
The George Washington University School of Business

The is also reflected on the opportunities we give researchers to share their new academic work. The Financial Literacy Seminar Series (FLSS), a joint initiative of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and GFLEC, created in 2012, is a good example. It brings together academics, practitioners, policy makers, and other experts to present and discuss cutting-edge research on financial literacy. And they are open to the public.

This week, you can join us for the next Fed/GFLEC FLSS of the spring semester! Dr. Keisha Solomon, Research Scientist at Howard University, will present her work "Insurance, Out-of-Pocket Expenses, and Financial Hardship Among Individuals Approaching Retirement: Evidence from State Medicaid Expansions."

The seminar will be held online on Thursday, April 6, from 3:30 - 4:30 PM ET. The registration process is still open here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1WsDUlw7TreuD5HNUmfJQA

The George Washington University School of Business
The George Washington University