Financial Literacy Grants Awarded by U.S. Education Department and Social Security Administration

This week’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Education and the Social Security Administration that they have awarded grants totaling more than $450,000 to support retirement security, financial literacy, and financial decision-making was received very warmly by the financial education community.  The grants are being funded under a new pilot discretionary program funded by the SSA, called the Minorities and Retirement Security Program. Both the SSA and the Education Department are members of the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission.

There are two primary purposes underlying the program.  First, it is designed to enable graduate students to conduct research in these financial education-related fields.  Second, the program aims to tackle the financial literacy and retirement planning deficiencies in low-income communities.  As a core element of the grants program, the Education Department identified institutions with specific research programs that would be well positioned to conduct the relevant research.

Funds from the grants will be used to provide stipends to graduate students in a broad range of disciples to conduct financial education research as it relates to their particular are of studies. One of the unique elements of this program that financial literacy proponents are talking a lot about is the fact that the output of the students’ research will be used in many applications to help key populations, including the creation of financial planning tools, presentations at conferences, and partnerships with organizations that offer community outreach.