Money Guidance Pathfinder - A Report to the FSA

In April 2009 the Government and the Financial Services Authority launched the £12m Money Guidance Pathfinder service in the North-West and North-East of England. The service, known as Moneymadeclear, provides impartial information and guidance on a wide range of personal finance issues tailored to the individual's needs and circumstances. It is available through the web, over the phone or face-to-face across the North-West and North-East. An evaluation of the Money Guidance Pathfinder was undertaken by PFRC to provide an evidence base for decisions on the roll out of a national Money Guidance service

Developing A Vision For Financial Inclusion

This study reviews the UK's progress towards financial inclusion, and develops an evidence-based vision for achieving financial inclusion over a ten-year timeframe. The Personal Finance Research Centre, in close collaboration with Friends Provident Foundation, conducted the research. Financial inclusion policy and practice has come a long way since Policy Action Team 14's landmark report in 1999. Other countries, in Europe and elsewhere, continue to look to the UK as a leader in this field. We cannot afford to be complacent, however. Financial exclusion remains an issue in the UK for a sizeable minority of people, worst affecting those on low incomes who may also be vulnerable in other ways. Financial services are an essential part of everyday life. People who face difficulties accessing and using financial services experience real detriment - in terms of the monetary costs of financial exclusion, but also the social and psychological costs of feeling excluded from mainstream society. People need financial services that enable them to manage day-to-day financial transactions, such as receiving income, paying bills and buying goods. In addition there are a number of different needs that financially excluded people may have to deal with periodically. The first of these is the need to meet one-off expenses that can be anticipated, such as family holidays and Christmas expenses. The second relates to less predictable expenses or events, such as burglary or white goods breaking down. Finally, there is a need to be able to manage financially following the loss of an earned income, for example through ill health, job loss, or on retirement

Framework for the Development of Financial Literacy Baseline Surveys: A First International Comparative Analysis

There is growing concern, across a wide range of countries, about the levels of financial capability of consumers. A large number of initiatives are therefore being developed to address this issue; and countries are increasingly rolling out national strategies on financial capability. To do this effectively requires evidence on the areas where financial capability in the population is low and an identification of the extent to which these should be addressed by financial education and/or consumer protection measures. Yet there is remarkably little robust information in this area and none that is comparable across countries. This report is aimed at informing the work of the OECD International Network on Financial Education (INFE) in this field, by 1) elaborating a set of draft good practice guidelines for the design of national financial literacy surveys and; 2) proposing guidelines for the design of a core set of good practice questions for embedding within any national surveys aimed at measuring financial literacy levels. Cadre pour le développement des connaissances financières à un niveau international : Première étude comparative internationale De nombreux pays s‘inquiètent de plus en plus des niveaux de compétences financières des consommateurs. Un grand nombre d‘initiatives sont mises en place pour augmenter les niveaux de connaissances financières et les pays se sont attelés à ces enjeux et ont commencé à développer des stratégies nationales en matière de capacité financière. Pour que cette démarche soit efficace, il faut recueillir des données dans les domaines où les connaissances financière de la population sont faibles et identifier jusqu‘à quel point des mesures en matière d‘éducation financière et/ou de protection des consommateurs peuvent aborder ces difficultés. Or, il existe extrêmement peu d‘information solide dans ce domaine et elle ne s‘avère pas comparable entre les pays. Le but de ce rapport est d‘informer sur les travaux que mène le réseau international sur l‘éducation financière de l‘OCDE (INFE) sur cette question à travers 1) l‘élaboration d‘un projet de bonnes pratiques pour la conception d‘enquêtes nationales sur les niveaux de capacité financière ; et 2) la proposition de lignes directrices pour l‘établissement d‘un ensemble de questions fondamentales de base à intégrer dans toute enquête nationale visant à mesurer le niveau de compétence financière des consommateurs, s‘appuyant sur des bonnes pratiques en la matière.budgets, saving, financial literacy, financial capability, spending, financial planning, financial literacy survey, consumer protection, financial education, dépenses, enquête des connaissances financières, protection des consommateurs, planification financière, capacité financière, connaissance financière, épargne, éducation financière, budget

Financial advice - An overview of research on pre-purchase financial advice for consumers

Financialisation of social welfare places a considerable responsibility on individuals to select financial products that are appropriate to their needs. At the same time, liberalisation of financial markets has made those choices more complex to make and there is growing evi-dence from countries that have undertaken surveys of financial capability that consumers are unsophisticated when it comes to buying financial products. Most do not shop around for the best and most appropriate deal, indeed few even collect information on a range of products

Assessing the Levels of Financial Capability and Financial Well-being in Norway. A summary report

Denne rapporten handler om ‘financial well-being’ — økonomisk trygghet på norsk. Rapporten gir et oversiktsbilde av økonomisk trygghet i Norge i 2017, basert på en tidligere rapport: Kempson E, Poppe C. SIFO rapport 3-2018. Understanding Financial Well-Being and Capability. A Revised Model and Comprehensive Analysis. Oslo: Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), Oslo Metropolitan University. Analysene viser at økonomisk trygghet påvirkes direkte av tre grupper av variabler: måten man bruker penger på, grad av økonomisk kontroll, og egenskaper ved det sosiale miljøet. Resultatene sammenlignes også med andre land, og plasserer Norge som en kontekst med utpreget høy grad av generell økonomisk trygghet. Rapporten peker likevel på kritiske aspekter av norske husholdningers økonomiske atferd, herunder lav grad av kontrollert forbruk, og gir anbefalinger for å konsolidere og forbedre allerede høye nivåer av økonomisk trygghet. This report provides an overview of financial well-being in Norway in 2017, based on a previous report: Kempson E, Poppe C. SIFO Report 3-2018. Understanding Financial Well-Being and Capability. A Revised Model and Comprehensive Analysis. Oslo: Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), Oslo Metropolitan University. The analysis show that financial well-being is directly influenced by three groups of variables: money use behaviours, financial confidence and control, and aspects of people’s social environment. The results are also compared with other countries, placing Norway as a high-score context. Still, the report points at critical aspects of the financial behaviour of Norwegian households, including a relatively low score on spending restraint, and offers policy advice to consolidate and improve already high levels of general financial well-being