Fifty-two percent of young adults between the ages of 23 and 28 consider “making better choices about managing money” the single most important issue for individual Americans to act on today, according to a new survey.
Among respondents in the Charles Schwab Foundation survey, better skills at managing their money outweighed the need to strengthen family relationships (18 percent), protect the environment (11 percent) and improve personal nutrition and health (9 percent).
The Schwab survey found almost two-thirds of young adults (64 percent) say financial fitness is more important than physical fitness, and the majority (51 percent) believe that financial education in school, grades K-12, is more important than both physical education (31 percent) and sex education (18 percent) combined.
According to Schwab Foundation, young adults’ money concerns pose an opportunity for employers.
Two-thirds of survey respondents (66 percent) say they would like to see their employers offer ongoing education and guidance on a range of financial topics beyond those related to employee benefits such as the company-sponsored retirement plan and health insurance choices, but only 25 percent of employers actually do so.
Reader response:
 “It is fantastic to know that young professionals are realizing that financial education is vital to their well-being. I hope they don’t forgo their morning workout to peruse CNNMoney.com for an extra hour every day, but the suggestion of an increase in ongoing employer provided benefit related education definitely seems like a step in the right direction. I have to wonder, though, if YP’s in the Hartford Region are only willing to spend time learning about benefits they already have access to; HYPE held a free workshop about horizontal diversification presented by 2 reputable New York Life representatives just last month, and very few members took advantage of the opportunity. If any HYPE members out there come across this comment, please let me know the kind of financial education you might look to HYPE to provide!” — J. Daly, MetroHartford Alliance (HYPE)
