News

Financial Education Helpful in Retirement Planning

Financial education helps people learn about savings, credit, and loans. It also helps them prepare for life changes and the unexpected. When planning for retirement, financial knowledge is essential.

In Washington’s King County today there are over 277 thousand people receiving a monthly Social Security Retirement payment.  Are you ready to become one of them?

How prepared are adults in the United States for their retirement? The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) conducts polls on how retirement savings affect people’s financial well-being. Here’s what we have learned:

• In a financial well-being poll conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, 85 percent of respondents confirmed that some aspect of their personal finances was causing them stress. For 31 percent of respondents, that concern was “having enough saved for retirement.”
• In the same poll, 70 percent said they made financial adjustments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that group, 27 percent increased contributions to their emergency savings, retirement savings, or other savings or investments. In comparison, 21 percent tapped into emergency savings—or borrowed against retirement savings.
• In a poll about financial education mandates, 80 percent of adults said they wish they had been required to complete a semester- or year-long course focused on personal finance education during high school. Also, 88 percent think their state should require a semester- or year-long course for high school graduation.
• In that same poll, 84 percent of those approaching retirement age said “spending and budgeting” should be taught in schools.

Lifetime financial education is helpful when it comes to retirement preparation. This includes understanding Social Security retirement benefits and making the most of retirement income. You can learn more on our Social Security in retirement webpage.

A personal mySocial Security account should be a part of your financial plan. With an account, you can verify your earnings history, get personalized retirement benefit estimates, and more. If you don’t have an account, you can create one easily at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

To learn more about NEFE, visit www.nefe.org. Please share this information with friends and family.

---

Contributor Kirk Larson is the Washington State Social Security Public Affairs Representative.

This article appeared in the February 2024 issue of AgeWise King County.