Highlights From the FINRA Foundation National Financial Capability Study
Financial Capability in the United States
The NFCS During a Pandemic
The FINRA Investor Education Foundation National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) examines a rich, connected
set of perceptions, attitudes, experiences, and behaviors across a large, diverse sample in the United States.
The study enables a comprehensive analysis of financial capability among U.S. adults. Each wave of the study,
which has been conducted every three years since 2009, includes new questions on current, critical topics,
while maintaining core measures to track changes over time.
The fifth and latest wave of the NFCS was fielded from June to October 2021 (N=27,118), providing a view of
financial capability during the COVID-19 pandemic. This unusual context is important to bear in mind while
interpreting the study's findings.
Sixteen percent of respondents in the 2021 NFCS reported that they or someone in their household had
COVID-19 at or before the time of the study, which was conducted before the Omicron variant became
prevalent.
► Twenty percent of respondents indicated they were laid off or furloughed due to the pandemic at some
point during 2020 or 2021.
Over a quarter of respondents (26 percent) experienced a large, unexpected drop in income.
► More than three-quarters of respondents (78
percent) received at least one pandemic-related
stimulus payment from the federal government.
Most used the funds to make purchases or
pay bills (59 percent), consistent with the
overall goals of the stimulus.
Many also added the money to savings or
used it to pay down debt (38 percent and 33
percent, respectively).
Over half of respondents (56 percent)
reported feeling anxious about their finances.
More than two in five (42 percent) said they
think about their finances daily; this figure
is even higher (58 percent) among those
reporting financial anxiety.
Use of COVID-19 stimulus money
(among respondents who received payments)
Made purchases or paid bills
59%
Added to savings
38%
Paid down debt
33%
Donated to individuals
or organizations
7%
Invested in the stock market
6%
Other
6%
The 2021 NFCS included a new question to assess respondents' understanding of probabilities. Only
36 percent of respondents were able to answer the question correctly. This raises concerns, because
understanding probability helps one to evaluate potential outcomes and risks associated with financial
decisions.
Which of the following indicates the highest probability of getting a particular disease??
<
2 >
There is a one-in-twenty chance of getting the disease
36%
2% of the population will get the disease
13%
25 out of every 1,000 people will get the disease
17%
Don't know
33%
Correct answer
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