European financial competence framework for adults

18/01/2022

On 11 January 2022 the European Commission and the OECD's International Network on Financial Education (INFE)Abre en ventana nuevaublished a financial competence framework for adults which aims to improve individuals’ financial skills so that they can make sound decisions regarding their personal finances.

The framework divides the financial competences into four content areas, which have then been further divided into topics and subtopics. These content areas are: money and transactions, planning and managing finances, risk and reward, and financial landscape.

The knowledge, skills and attitudes considered for the different areas are:

• Money and transactions: the different forms of money and currencies; income; prices, payments and purchases; and the importance of financial records and contracts.
• Planning and managing finances: budgeting; managing income and expenditure; saving; investing; longer-term planning; retirement; credit; and debt management.
• Risk and reward: the identification of risks; financial safety nets; insurance; and balancing risk and reward.
• Financial landscape: regulation and consumer protection; rights and responsibilities of consumers; the use of financial education, financial information and financial advice; financial products and services; scams and fraud; understanding of tax and public spending; and external influences on financial decisions.

Another aim of this financial competence framework is to support the development of public policies, financial education programmes and learning materials by the Member States, educational institutions and industry. The framework provides a set of competences that can be used to:

• Support the development, implementation and update of national financial literacy strategies.
• Support the design of financial education programmes and the development of financial education learning materials and tools.
• Facilitate the assessment of financial literacy levels and the evaluation of financial literacy initiatives.

As part of the Financial Education Plan, the Banco de España, alongside the Spanish National Securities Market Commission, is a regular member of the INFEAbre en ventana nueva and actively participates in various working groups whose aim is to boost financial education by sharing experiences with the other members.