Crypto Deepens Financial Literacy Education Gaps Across Millennials

IBL News | New York

Financial literacy education needs a major overhaul to keep up with generational shifts in investing and retirement planning.

The Investopedia 2022 Financial Literacy Survey, released this month, revealed that, in addition to the changing nature of financial literacy, one in four millennials is using crypto to fund their retirement.

The survey asked 4,000 U.S. adults—1,000 each from Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer generations—about their financial know-how, habits, worries, and retirement plans.

Other findings include that millennials are just as likely to be invested in cryptocurrency (38%) as they are in the stock market (37%), and 1 in 4 say they’re relying on crypto to help fund their retirement.

The research states that 10% of Gen Z, 15% of Millennials, and 13% of Gen X are invested in non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

More than half (53%) of Gen Z respondents expect to stop working before age 60, and many intend to rely on social security (27%) and crypto (17%) to fund their retirement.

Among members of Gen Z, 39% of Gen Z investors report getting their investing information from YouTube. 30% turn to TikTok for personal finance information. Internet searches (39%) and conversations with friends and family (44%) were also cited as important sources of information.

Respondents said they want to learn how to do their taxes (34%), reduce debt (31%), and build or improve their credit score (30%).

“Our relationship to money, investing, and financial planning has radically changed in the past few years,” said Investopedia Editor in Chief, Caleb Silver.

“New asset classes like crypto and NFTs have emerged just as millions of people are taking their first steps into investing. These changes require a modernized approach to financial education—one that provides people of all ages with knowledge of new, emerging, and traditional financial products and services. As financial educators, it is our responsibility to make sure we are fostering that literacy as far and wide as we can.”