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You are here: Home / Newsroom / Newsletters / Family Economics News - May 2006

Family Economics News - May 2006

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) works with land-grant university partners and others to advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities through national program leadership and Federal assistance. Among the Agency’s goals is to support increased economic opportunities and quality of life in rural areas. Family economics aligns with this goal by focusing on how individuals and families obtain and use resources such as money, time, human capital, material resources, and community services; by exploring the relationship between individuals and families and the larger economy; and by studying the impact of public issues, policies, and programs on family economic well-being.

Research/Program Evaluation

  • High School Student Financial Literacy Low
  • Workers Behind on Retirement Savings

Education/Extension

  • National Financial Literacy Strategy Released
  • Closing the Gap Between Knowledge and Behavior

Resources

  • Financial Planning
  • Prepaid Cards
  • Wi$e Up Women
  • Get the Facts on Saving and Investing

Opportunities

  • Call for Papers:
    • Journal of Personal Finance
    • Journal of Youth Development
    • Financial Counseling and Planning
    • Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE)
    • Journal of Family and Economic Issues/Consumer Finances
    • Community Affairs Conference (Federal Reserve) 
    • The Future Urban Agenda Conference
  • Funding:
    • NASD Investor Education Foundation
    • Retirement Economics (R03)
    • Retirement Economics (R21)
    • NRI - Nutrition and Obesity
    • Learn and Serve America
    • Assets for Independence

Calendar

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The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy's nationwide biennial survey of financial literacy reveals that, while there has been an increase in the number of survey questions that students answered correctly, the rate of that increase is growing slowly. Students taking the Jump$tart survey demonstrated increased aptitude and ability to manage financial resources such as credit cards, insurance, retirement funds, and savings accounts at a level slightly higher than in 2004. The comprehensive written survey of 5775 high school students in 37 states measured 12th graders' level of knowledge of personal finance basics and compared the results with those from similar surveys conducted in 2004, 2002, 2000, and 1997. Teachers in classes other than finance and management, mostly English and social studies, administered the survey. The average score for the 2005-2006 survey was 52.4 percent, up marginally from 52.3 percent in the 2003-04 survey. Compounding the problem of low financial literacy scores is their distribution. In the current survey, white students scored an average of 55 percent, while African Americans scored significantly lower at 44.7 percent and Hispanics at 46.8 percent. See the Jump$tart's Web site, for more information about Jump$tart, it's biennial survey and a copy of the survey questionnaire.

The majority of workers (55 percent) believe they are behind schedule when it comes to planning and saving for retirement, according to the 2006 Retirement Confidence Survey released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the American Savings Education Council (ASEC). Almost 70 percent of workers have saved for retirement, but many have saved less than $25,000. Sixty-eight percent of today's workers are skeptical that Social Security will be able to provide them benefits of at least equal value to those that current retirees receive. Doing a retirement savings calculation can have a positive impact on the way a person saves or plans for retirement, but only about 40 percent of workers have taken this important step.

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CSREES represents USDA on the 20-agency Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which recently launched Taking Ownership of the Future: The National Campaign for Financial Literacy. The Commission also delivered its report to Congress. The report, called Strategy for Assuring Financial Empowerment (the SAFE Report), includes plans for the "Taking Ownership of the Future" campaign. CSREES is mentioned in the report for providing leadership through the nationwide Cooperative Extension System to provide outcomes-based financial education to rural America; for specifically addressing youth financial literacy; for helping adults make decisions leading to financial security in later life, and; for helping low-wealth individuals and families acquire financial literacy. CSREES is named to work with the Department of Treasury on a research symposium to synthesize existing knowledge and identify knowledge gaps to inform effective financial educational strategies.

The National Endowment for Financial Education® has released its report from a summer 2005 event which brought together educators from a variety of disciplines to explore how to make financial literacy programs more effective. This was the first symposium to combine financial educators with leaders from other fields—neuroscience, change theory, behavioral economics, and psychology—with the common goal of finding new ways to help move people toward taking positive actions to create a healthier financial future. The symposium, titled Closing the Gap Between Knowledge and Behavior: Turning Education into Action, was organized around four featured presentations that examined topics as diverse as the implications of brain biology on behavior, effective programs that incorporate change theory, observed economic behavior versus traditional economic theory, and the psychology of an individual’s money personality. For more information, see the Executive Summary and the White Paper.

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The Financial Planning Association® connects those who need, support, and deliver financial planning. Tools on how to locate and choose a financial planner are available on their Web site.

To help consumers understand prepaid cards, the National Consumers League has developed a simple, bilingual brochure in English and Spanish, "Prepaid Cards: What They Are, How They Work." Hard copies of the brochure are being distributed by the Federal Citizen Information Center. To order a single brochure or a bulk quantity of 100, visit their Web site and look for brochure 638N, or call (888) 878-3256 and follow the automated instructions to place your order.

The Wi$e Up Program, targeted for women ages 22-35, features an interactive curriculum, suggestions from financial experts, and compelling statistics on women and money. Learn more about this program, offered by the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau.

Get the Facts on Saving and Investing

"Get the Facts on Saving and Investing" offered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, covers the topics of defining your goals, making a financial plan, determining your risk tolerance, avoiding problems, investment choices, and choosing a financial professional.

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  • NASD Investor Education Foundation - The NASD Investor Education Foundation has released its 2006 grants application process. The Foundation is accepting proposals for research projects and/or educational programs that address its investor education and investor protection priorities. The proposal deadline for the General Grant Program is May 15, 2006. NASD grant opportunity about Applying Financial Theory to Improve Life-Cycle Investing. Proposal deadline is July 14, 2006.
  • Retirement Economics (R03) - The National Institute on Aging invites applications for research on retirement economics. The research objectives of this funding opportunity announcement include, but are not limited to: (1) the determinants of retirement behavior, (2) the variation in work patterns in later life, (3) the evolution of health and economic circumstances of individuals through retirement and into later life, (4) time use and life satisfaction before and during retirement, (5) the implications of retirement trends, (6) retirement expectations, (7) international comparisons of retirement and (8) the development of innovative retirement modeling techniques. Proposal deadline is June 1, 2006.
  • Retirement Economics (R21) - The National Institute on Aging invites applications for research on retirement economics. The research objectives of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) include, but are not limited to: (1) the determinants of retirement behavior, (2) the variation in work patterns in later life, (3) the evolution of health and economic circumstances of individuals through retirement and into later life, (4) time use and life satisfaction before and during retirement, (5) the implications of retirement trends, (6) retirement expectations, (7) international comparisons of retirement and (8) the development of innovative retirement modeling techniques. Proposal deadline is June 1, 2006.
  • NRI - Nutrition and Obesity - The 2006 CSREES National Research Initiative includes a call for proposals on Human Nutrition and Obesity.  Interdisciplinary efforts to understand behaviors associated with lifestyle choices leading to optimum health and weight, including a household’s propensity to save, are encouraged. The proposal deadline is June 15, 2006.
  • 2006 Learn & Serve America - A Community-Based Grant Program - Non-profits, tribal governments and organizations, and higher education institutions can apply for 16 anticipated awards in the range of $350,000 to $500,000 for community development, jobs and training, and other activities that promote the development and sustainability of community-based service-learning programs in youth-serving organizations.
  • Assets for Independence - The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, has announced funding opportunities through the Assets for Independence Federal Grant Program. This program enables agencies to implement an asset-based approach for giving low-income families assistance out of poverty. Closing deadline is June 15.

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  • CSREES Contact: Jane Schuchardt, National Program Leader, CSREES-USDA
  • National Initiative “Financial Security in Later Life” Contact: Nancy M. Porter, Family Resource Management Specialist, Clemson University
  • Financial Literacy for Youth Contact: Erica Tobe, Program Leader for Financial Literacy & Housing, Michigan State University
  • Financial Security for All eXtension Contact: Debra Pankow, Family Economics Specialist, North Dakota State University

Back issues of Family Economics News are available.

To summit items for consideration for this newsletter, contact Jim Terry, Program Analyst, CSREES-USDA.

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Last Updated: 07/31/2006