(Not) Breaking News! Millennials Struggle with Money Management Decisions

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'Look, honey, we're rich.'

More debt and decision-making demands combined with lower financial literacy levels are making it especially difficult for Millennials to get ahold money management issues.

Millennials and Money: The State of Their Financial Management and How Workplaces Can Help Them found that Millennial difficulties with student debt and money management decision-making are greater compared to those in the same age range (18-37) a decade ago. At the same time, their financial literacy levels are lower, according to the TIAA Institute and the George Washington University’s Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC).

“As one of the largest and most highly educated generations, Millennials play an increasingly pivotal role in our economy,” Stephanie Bell-Rose, Head of the TIAA Institute, said in a statement. “The results of this study are a wakeup call to employers, financial institutions, and anyone else who is concerned about improving economic outcomes and supporting the younger workforce through financial education.”

“Millennials’ precarious financial situations combined with their low level of financial literacy can put their financial wellbeing at risk,” added Annamaria Lusardi, the Academic Director of GFLEC. “This is why employer-sponsored financial education becomes critical in helping them secure a financially secure future. The more these programs are tailored to specific individual needs and financial situations, the more effective they will be.”

Only 19 percent of Millennials who perceived themselves as having high knowledge about personal finance were able to correctly answer basic questions assessing fundamental financial concepts.

Key findings

Forty percent of Millennials have been offered financial education by a school, college, or employer. Of those offered such programs, 68 percent chose to participate, with 31 percent accessing these programs through an employer.

To improve the financial literacy and financial wellbeing of this demographic, the report recommends that employers consider the following tactics:

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