Financial Literacy

The 2021 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index

COVID-19 has underlined the importance of possessing financial knowledge and skills—and having a financial cushion to weather the unexpected.

Many people have only a vague notion of the concept of longevity risk, which in turn implies they are likely to save too little for retirement and have a low demand for longevity insurance products.

What makes a market for annuity contracts successful, and what are the key demand and supply constraints that affect the performance of such a market?

As policymakers, financial services firms and individuals turn their attention to the decumulation phase of retirement saving, annuities are gaining renewed interest.

There is mounting evidence of minorities’ financial struggles and persistent wealth gaps compared to whites, along with substantial gender differences in indicators of financial wellness.

Many Americans are functioning in today’s environment with a poor level of financial literacy. This is more true among women than men, and more true among underrepresented minority women than their white peers. Especially problematic in today’s environment is the finding that financial literacy is particularly low in the area of comprehending and understanding risk and uncertainty. On average, U.S. women correctly answered only one-third of the index questions related to risk and uncertainty. The same holds true among African American and Hispanic women.

As the U.S. moves through and past the Covid-19 pandemic, individuals will strive to rebuild their financial resilience. Many will turn to their employers for help.

Precarious financial behaviors, coupled with low financial literacy, have left many millennials ill-equipped to face a severe economic crisis.

Americans’ financial literacy, while remaining low overall, has improved slightly in recent years.