We know that within a few years we will have more pensioners than workers. We know that the social security checks of the future will be lighter than the last salary: an employee will get 60-70%, a self-employed person can go down to 50%. Do we really know? Outside the circle of professionals, is the majority of the population aware of these macro trends? And is it preparing to face them in its micro-cosm?
Unfortunately, surveys on the level of financial literacy in Italy are merciless. And this is why, in the context of a reflection on social security – but the same could be said for health or prevention – it is essential to broaden our gaze to the spread of greater awareness among the population. Last year the Bank of Italy closed its three-year investigation. Compared to 2020, Italians’ financial literacy score has improved (from 10.2 to 10.6, out of 20 total points). Thanks above all to the components of “behavior” and “attitude”. Italians have improved their ability to manage financial resources (setting objectives, being punctual in payments) and their orientation towards saving, but – despite the inflationary wave experienced – they have even worsened the familiarity with concepts such as inflation, interest rate, risk diversification.
If they scroll the OECD tables in the latest study from 2023Furthermore, the scenario compared to advanced countries is depressing. Having made the maximum mark in financial literacy 100, we get 53. Behind us we only see Cambodia, Paraguay and Yemen. Germany 76, France 62, Spain 64. The OECD average is 63.
Alleanza Assicurazioni (Generali Group) publishes, with the Mario Gasbarri Foundation and the scientific support of SDA Bocconi the Edufin Index. Even in this case, the picture is more of shadows than lights. The last photograph shows a slight improvement (56 points from 55 the previous year), but not enough for promotion. The population is growing, reaching 60, sufficiency, from 34 to 41% but there are pockets of illiteracy and 20% of Italians that the report catalogs as “fragile and disinterested”: unemployed or domestic workers, with low incomes and lower education at the diploma. Mostly women and profiles concentrated in the South and on the Islands, over 65.
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Particular attention should be dedicated to women. The Edufin Index notes that 30% are in a state of financial fragility (compared to 23% men) and as many as 65 do not manage the family budget independently. «An issue that requires maximum attention», says the CEO of Alleanza, Davide Passero. “It is a phenomenon that produces imbalances in the family: in spending and saving decisions, but it leads to economic subordination which can translate into dependence.”
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The gap arises from the early years: «Education on financial issues is in a certain sense hereditary and male-oriented, transmitted from father to son – adds Passero – Consolidated literature already identifies a “pocket-gap” problem: the father teaches his “little man” to manage money, while he gives his “princess” a gift to fulfill a wish.” From this initial distortion, to the lower weight of women in STEM training, to the drastically lower employment rate, to the paycheck gap: it’s a short step.
Among the factors that open the gap there is also a different interest in financial and insurance topics: 22% of women, double that of men, say they never get informed and 30% have a low interest in the argument against 19% of men. If we then consider that the domestic context of origin is a fundamental variable in raising the index, it is clear that a serious investment in financial education should be a system objective. «With the capital bill, it will finally officially enter schools, in the context of civic education: we have been waiting for it for years», explains Passero. The hope is that fresh and qualified forces will also arrive among the teachers.
The manager is convinced of the need for cooperation between public and private “investing in education and awareness-raising actions”. Alleanza promotes the financial education itinerary at school (50 institutions visited this school year) and has launched the Financial Education Tour with a focus on women. Clearly, for an entity that deals with social security “there is every interest in having more educated and aware citizens”, Passero comments. «But the social need for Italians to know to what extent and why, in a few years, they will have a problem is undeniable. And they are then free to face it with the company that best meets their needs. The urgent point is that three out of four workers are not very aware of this.”
