Parents Play Vital Role in Financial Education

According to the American United Life Insurance Company (AUL), a OneAmerica company, 56% of respondents said their parents taught them about finances. Thirty-eight percent indicated they learned about finances from books.  

Twenty percent of respondents said a teacher in school taught them about finances, 12% learned from their spouse, and 8% learned from another family member.  

According to the survey, younger adults, between the ages of 20 and 30, were much more likely (71%) to have learned about finance from parents than other age groups.  

“These findings tell us that there’s opportunity for our industry to fill in knowledge gaps,” said Marsha Whitehead, vice president of marketing communications for the retirement services division. “We need to pool our resources and help parents raise financially literate children. Better educating participants about their own retirement plans could have a ripple effect on future generations of retirement plan participants.”