M. Verić at UMFO event on young people’s financial literacy: public awareness, knowledge and financial skills are the best protection against poor financial decisions
Young people’s financial literacy and the challenges of making responsible financial decisions were the focus of the event “Financial Brunch – Summer Intermezzo”, organised by the Association of Pension Companies and Pension Insurance Companies (UMFO). During a panel discussion, Martina Verić, Member of the Hanfa Board, emphasised that public awareness, knowledge and financial skills are the best protection against poor financial decisions.
Speaking about the challenges of improving financial literacy among young people, Verić stressed: “Financial literacy should be viewed as an important form of consumer protection; young people in particular should be encouraged to actively manage their personal finances and take responsibility for their financial decisions.” In addition to the development of financial literacy, she highlighted the importance of media literacy, enabling young people to identify reliable sources of information and critically assess financial content they encounter daily on the internet and social media.
The panel discussion, entitled “Young People’s Financial Literacy – Challenges, Responsibilities and Future Developments”, was moderated by Dajana Barbić from the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. Alongside Martina Verić, the panel featured Ana Zorić from the Ministry of Finance, Professor Zvonimir Galić from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Assistant Professor Tomislav Jagušt from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, and Kristijan Buk from UMFO. The discussion focused on young people’s financial literacy, the challenges of long-term financial planning, the role of educational system and institutions in financial education, the impact of social media and artificial intelligence on financial decision-making, and the importance of developing a critical approach to financial information.
The event also featured the presentation of the results of the third financial literacy survey conducted among University of Zagreb students. The findings showed that the financial literacy level of the student population has increased significantly over the past ten years. Today, nearly 70 percent of students successfully pass a financial literacy test, and there has been noticeable progress in understanding practical financial matters. At the same time, the results indicate the need to further strengthen young people’s knowledge and interest in topics related to long-term financial planning and retirement savings.
“Topics such as the pension system and retirement savings are often less relatable to young people as they tend to view them as concerns for a distant future. This is precisely why financial education requires content and communication channels to be tailored to different target groups, with institutions, the educational system and experts from various fields all playing an important role,” Verić concluded.
