Your Money Haven

Financial education 'key'

04 March 2008

Low standards of financial literacy are hindering sensible planning decisions for the future of Britons, it has been claimed.

The warning comes as the government launched a new £12 million education program called Money Guidance in a bid to raise financial smarts among young consumers.

Leading the government's review was Aegon chief executive, Otto Thoresen, who argued that for that initiative to maintain its integrity, stringent measures should be taken to ensure that advice is independent and impartial.

"Money Guidance will help people deal with the money matters that shape their everyday lives - budgeting their weekly or monthly spending, saving and borrowing, insuring and protecting themselves and their families, retirement planning, and understanding the technical language that we in the financial services industry too often use," he said.

Angela Knight, the British Bankers Association chief executive, who attended a briefing of the review's findings, said that financial education was "key".

"Otto Thoresen has identified a real gap in financial knowledge among the wider population.

"The real tests will be encouraging a good take-up of the service and making sure it meets people's needs," she commented.

Money Guidance will initially be run as a two-year pilot scheme.