Center for Financial Security
What's New
2010 Symposium, April 19-20
Family Financial Security:
Implications for Policy and Practice
Events in the last year provide clear evidence of the need to better understand consumer behavior and financial decision making. Understanding these complex issues require collaborative investigations across areas such as economics, finance, psychology, sociology, law, public policy, and human development. "Family Financial Security: Implications for Policy and Practice" brings together scholars from diverse fields to present relevant research to high-level practitioners and then engage in discussion of how programs, policies and products can best promote family financial security. Read more...
Center's Purpose
Saving for retirement or other future income needs has always been the responsibility of individuals and an important determinant of financial security. However, savings has become a more complex decision as financial products have increased in number and type and economic risks have grown.
Savings is an important consumption decision defined by individuals choosing to forego the current consumption of goods and services in order to assure greater consumption in the future (including in retirement). While future economic security may be enhanced by employer-provided and government-sponsored or managed insurance and retirement programs, even individuals covered by these program must often make decisions about participation and contributions and will have to make decisions about withdrawal timing and rates. The consumption-savings decisions have only become more complex as consumption and savings options have expanded and as patterns of family formation, employment and health care coverage have changed.
There is evidence that individuals and families in the U.S. are not saving “enough” not only for retirement, but for other risks that face families. The number of personal bankruptcies and growing personal debt is an indication of the absence of financial planning among younger families. As employers move from defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans and increasingly offer cafeteria-like benefit plans, retirement security risks have also changed. The message is clear – individuals must take greater responsibility for acquiring financial information and using that information in planning for their financial security.
There is a growing need by consumers for information on financial issues and on wise consumption of financial products in the face of other family consumption needs. How do households with high debt or unexpected expenses manage crises? What do households do when the unthinkable happens – from unplanned medical expenses to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina? In order to improve their financial security, individuals and families need tools in three strategic areas:
- Cash and Credit Management
- Wealth Accumulation
- Risk Management
The School of Human Ecology is conducting a feasibility study to determine scholarly interest and the potential viability of a campus Center for Financial Security. The planning team is comprised of members of the community, faculty and graduate students, all committed to a single mission: To improve consumer financial management.
The Center will provide an intellectual hub, staff and programming to build relationships among campus programs and people, businesses, and the local community. These strong and active connections will benefit students, consumers and the collaborating businesses and organizations.
