“This ANZ-Retirement Commission Adult Financial Literacy Survey is the first research of its kind in New Zealand and will provide Government and the financial services sector with a crucial benchmark for future comparisons,” says Retirement Commissioner, Diana Crossan.
New Zealand is yet again the centre of international attention. This time it’s not the All Black’s or yachting, but something far more prosaic - our retirement policy.
Our particular model of future pension planning has attracted overseas interest because of its simplicity, affordability and focus on lifelong financial management.
I was invited to London in November to speak at a conference. While I was there I met with more than a dozen UK politicians, government officials and NGO staff members charged with financial planning and pensions policy.
The Retirement Commission, with private sector support, is hosting the country’s first financial literacy symposium tomorrow in Wellington to investigate how to improve New Zealanders’ financial know-how.
“International research suggests that financial literacy is linked to wealth: people with a high level of financial literacy make better informed financial decisions and therefore accumulate more assets,” said Ms Crossan.
In September 2008, David Feslier spoke at the 'Reaching Higher' conference on financial literacy in Montreal, Canada.
This, the second national symposium on the importance and impact of financial literacy in Canada, looked at Canadian and international experiences in developing, measuring, delivering and evaluating financial literacy programmes, products and services.
Reaching Higher was organised by:
The strategy, led by the Retirement Commission in consultation with the public, private and voluntary sectors, sets the direction for improving the financial literacy levels of New Zealanders.
The Retirement Commission is leading the project aimed at developing a framework for schools to assist in teaching students money skills so that when they leave school they can make informed financial decisions.
Retirement Commissioner Diana Crossan says the significant contribution from the country’s banks means the trial can proceed more quickly than expected.