The National Strategy for Financial Literacy sets out actions which will help New Zealand lift its standards of financial literacy. The strategy recommends the following range of measures and practices:
Individual
1. That financial education and information initiatives be tailored flexibly to reach all groups of New Zealanders at times, places and in forms most relevant to them2.
2. That strategic initiatives for financial literacy be aligned with the broader New Zealand Skills Strategy3, in order to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for self-efficacy.
Environment
3. That the Retirement Commission hosts the National Strategy for Financial Literacy on its website and takes responsibility for linking people and resources cross-agency. In its co-ordinating role, the Retirement Commission will develop and maintain a database of providers of financial education and information in New Zealand.
4. The National Strategy endorses the development of new standards for transparent, plain language and user-friendly forms of financial disclosure and description of products and services, in order to enhance consumer understanding subject to meeting regulatory objectives.
5. Best practices be developed for assessing and improving the competency of, and providing professional support to, financial advisers. Alongside this the Retirement Commission will continue to alert the public to questions they should ask an adviser.
Financial education
6. The National Strategy for Financial Literacy supports the inclusion of a financial education teaching and learning programme, as part of the New Zealand Curriculum launched in 2007. The Retirement Commission will work with the Ministry of Education, and other interested parties, to ensure that as many students as possible benefit from this programme.
7. That professional development courses be offered to increase teachers’ knowledge of the importance of financial education and their skill in delivering effective financial education teaching and learning programmes.
8. That high quality resources be developed to support classroom teachers to teach financial education effectively.
9. That financial education be delivered in a manner which is impartial, judgement-free and seeks to empower people to best manage the reality of their financial circumstances.
10. That community partnerships be developed with those working on the ground to identify locations and channels where financial education/information may most effectively be delivered for those not in the workforce or not able to access financial education/information at work.
11. That the Retirement Commission continues to work with employers, unions and industry groups to decide the tactics most suitable for delivering financial education/information to their employees.
12. That partnerships be established with Te Puni Kökiri, Ngäi Tahu and other iwi to extend the delivery of successful school financial education programmes to the Mäori community. Collaboration will aim to identify channels through which financial education can be tailored effectively for delivery to Mäori whänau.
13. That the Retirement Commission work with Pacific communities, the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs and relevant stakeholders to facilitate financial education programmes tailored to Pacific peoples to provide the information and skills necessary to become well informed and knowledgeable consumers of financial products and services, to manage money effectively on a daily basis, and to plan for the future.
Monitoring and reporting
14. That the financial knowledge of the adult New Zealand population be measured on a 4-yearly cycle, with the next national survey in 2009.
15. That the Retirement Commission, in its leadership role, work with research and evaluation professionals to develop instruments to capture the long-term effects of financial education and financial literacy on peoples’ personal financial well being.
16. That a standard evaluation framework be developed that providers of financial education can adopt and adapt, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of their programmes. In addition, guidance be provided, and experiences and best practices shared in order to learn by doing and continuously modify programmes.
2 The Retirement Commission is aware that there are many groups and sub groups of New Zealanders whose particular characteristics need to be taken into account when targeting financial literacy. In addition to its own work with these groups, the Commission will support organisations which work with specific groups to prioritise financial literacy for these groups. Submissions to the Draft Strategy drew attention in the media as a target for development of sound financial literacy.
3 The purpose of the skills strategy is to “deliver a unified approach to ensure New Zealand individuals and organisations are able to develop and use the skills required in the workplaces of the future”. Its goals are:
1. Effective utilisation and retention of skills to transform work and workplaces
2. Increase quality of demand for employers and workers
3. Influence the supply of skills and create a more responsive supply side
4. Unified approach to defining, valuing and measuring work skills.
One relevant work strand is: “increasing the literacy, numeracy and language skills of the workforce”.
