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Nine out of 10 parents call for more financial education

Your Money
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Your Money
Posted:
Updated:
27/02/2024

Research from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has revealed that nine out of 10 parents think that personal finance education should be taught at school.

Of these, half think it should be mandatory. Currently, personal finance education is not compulsory and does not have to be included as part of the curriculum. Nearly half of parents think it is the joint responsibility of parents and teachers to educate their children on money matters.

When parents were asked to rank a range of school subjects in order of importance, parents placed personal finance sixth in a list, after the core subjects of maths, English, science, languages and history. It was rated more important than learning geography, music or religious studies.

Over half of parents believe that personal finance education is vital, because they believe they would be in a healthier financial situation now if they had been taught about money matters at school.

Nine out of 10 had no financial education when they were at school, and 65% of parents would now like some sort of personal finance training as an adult, either to pass onto their children, or to sort out their own financial affairs.

Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director of the AIC, said: “Parents are clearly worried about their children’s ability to manage their finances in the future and feel financial education is a crucial skill for adult life.

“Parents clearly believe that financial education should be part of the national curriculum, even rating it higher than geography and parents clearly feel they have missed out by not learning the basics, so it’s no wonder they want their children to be better prepared for the wider world. It’s obvious that parents want more financial information themselves so they are better informed and can pass on their knowledge to their children.”

The subjects that parents feel they need to brush up the most on are retirement planning, tax issues, managing budgets, mortgages and investing in the stock market.

 


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