Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning in Switzerland

Abstract

We use a representative survey covering 1,500 households to document the level of financial literacy in Switzerland and to examine how financial literacy is related to retirement planning. We measure financial literacy with standardized questions that capture knowledge about three basic financial concepts: Compound interest, inflation, and risk diversification. We measure retirement planning by the incidence of a voluntary retirement savings account. Our results show that financial literacy in Switzerland is high by international standards--a result which is compatible with the high ranking of Switzerland on the PISA mathematical scales. Financial literacy is lower among low-income, less-educated, and immigrant, non-native-speaking households as well as among women. We find that financial literacy is strongly correlated with voluntary retirement saving. Our results also show that financial literacy is correlated with financial market participation and mortgage borrowing.

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