The Level of Financial Literacy among Muslim Millennial Students

Millenials, also known as Generation Y, are a demographic cohort who were born between early 1980’s and late 1990’s and are reportedly to be active users of FinTech. At the same time, recent research documents the problems Millenials are prone to inadequate financial knowledge, an unsatisfactory current financial situation, and misuse of retirement accounts. The last segment is particularly very important since life expectancy today is rising, while pension and social welfare systems are being strained. In this paper we examine the level of financial literacy among millennial students who at the same time active users of financial technology. The data was collected via questionnaire distribution to International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) students in the campus. From all collected responses 217 which matches the research criteria such as students who belong to Millennial generation were selected for analysis. To measure financial literacy level, we use the “Big Three” method designed by Lusardi and Mitchell (2011). In our study where respondents are university students, findings suggest that 47% out of all 217 respondents has a satisfactory level of financial literacy. The level of financial literacy is higher among post-graduate students and engineering students. Mobile payment users comprise 64% of respondents and only 24% among them is financially literate. It is also noteworthy that 93% of respondents do not have a retirement account. These findings are very important since the study is conducted in a university environment where 100% of the respondents are involved in higher education. It is crucial to teach finance subjects in all faculties and there is a dire need to establish an institution which will regularly conduct a nationwide survey to access the level of financial literacy and financial behaviour of youth to avoid the financial collapse of Generation Y.

Reforming Teacher Pension Plans: The Case of Kansas, the 1st Teacher Cash Balance Plan

The ongoing crisis in teacher pension funding has led states to consider various reforms in plan design, to replace the traditional benefit formulas, based on years of service and final average salary (FAS). One such design is a cash balance (CB) plan, long deployed in the private sector, and increasingly considered, but rarely yet adopted for teachers. Such plans are structured with individual 401(k)-type retirement accounts, but with guaranteed returns. In this paper I examine how the nation's first CB plan for teachers, in Kansas, has played out for system costs, and the level and distribution of individual benefits, compared to the FAS plan it replaced. My key findings are: (1) employer-funded benefits were modestly reduced, despite the surface appearance of more generous employer contribution matches; (2) more importantly, the cost of the pension guarantee, which is off-the-books under standard actuarial accounting, was reduced quite substantially. In addition, benefits are more equitably distributed between short termers and career teachers than under the back-loaded structure of benefits characteristic of FAS plans. The key to the plan's cost reduction is that the guaranteed return approximates a low-risk market return, considerably lower than the assumed return on risky assets.

Consumer Financial Knowledge and Retirement Planning Behaviors

With the increasingly serious problem of population aging around the world, the issue of consumer retirement planning behaviors has been highlighted in recent years. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of consumer financial knowledge on retirement planning behaviors. Utilizing the data from the National Financial Capability Study in 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018, this study measures consumer retirement planning behavior through the variables of whether consumers have retirement accounts and whether they regularly contribute to their retirement account. To verify the robustness, a series of additional regressions are conducted by replacing the estimation approach and dropping income outliers. The results imply that consumers with a high level of financial knowledge tend to perform desirable retirement behaviors. Based on the results, we recommend that financial education programs should be widely introduced and targeted at those who lack financial knowledge, such as the elderly and the under-educated, to stimulate consumers to improve their retirement planning behaviors.

Financial Literacy and the Early Withdrawal of Funds From Retirement Accounts

This study examined the association between financial literacy and the decision to withdraw funds from different types of retirement accounts before retirement. Data from the 2012 and 2015 National Financial Capability Study were used to investigate if financial literacy may potentially influence the decision to dissave from funds already set aside for retirement. The results showed that lower financial literacy appeared to increase the likelihood to retract funds saved for retirement, across different types of retirement accounts. The importance of financial literacy persisted, even after controlling for income shocks to personal finances, the availability of precautionary savings as an alternative source of funding, and an extensive set of demographic variables.

PECULIARITIES OF INHERITANCE OF RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The article examines the foreign experience of the system of pension provision of the population of the United States of America; focuses on the problems of women’s pension provision; describes the two most popular ways of saving pension accounts; pays attention to their similarities and differences. The article also presents the order of inheritance of accounts, discusses the features that beneficiaries face when exercising their right of inheritance. The presented experience can be useful and will serve as an auxiliary element in the development of the Russian pension system.

THE ECONOMIC EFFECT OF USING PERSONALIZED RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS INSTEAD OF THE EXISTING RUSSIAN PENSION PROVISION SYSTEM

Article simulates the accumulation of financial resources for pension provision of citizens of the Russian Federation for the period from 1992 to 2020 in the case of using in practice the system of pension provision of citizens based on personalized pension accounts instead of the existing system of pension provision of citizens of Russia. All the components of the economic effect of using personalized pension accounts are described in detail and illustrated by calculations.

Factors Associated With the Ownership of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior

Despite the importance of retirement savings, many individuals retire with lack of adequate retirement savings. While calculating retirement savings needs was found to enhance retirement savings, little is known about what underlies this enhancement. Applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we developed a model in which psychological factors influence the calculation of retirement savings needs, which in turn influences the ownership of individual retirement accounts. Path analysis was used to test our model with data from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study. The results showed that favorable attitudes, strong social norms, and perceived behavioral control are associated with calculating retirement savings needs. Also, calculating retirement savings needs as well as perceived behavioral control and having an employer-based retirement plan, in turn, contributed to the prediction of individual retirement account ownership. Our results suggest it is important to understand he psychological factors behind calculating retirement savings needs and to make it easy for individuals to calculate those needs.