- Santander’s new global report on financial education finds that the UK public think teaching children financial literacy in school is more important than history and science.
- Despite having an appetite for control over their finances – four-fifths of people across the ten countries surveyed track their monthly expenses – only 20% have ever taken a course in financial education.
- Nearly half (48%) of those surveyed in the UK wish they could have learned more about pensions, and 63% want to know more about investing. UK adults are significantly less confident to invest their money than Americans, with 62% of those in the US investing in stocks compared to just 31% of Britons.
- Only 40% of people in the UK were able to answer a question about inflation correctly, decreasing to 32% worldwide.
The UK public values financial education above almost all traditional school subjects – including history, science and literature – according to Santander’s new global report on financial education, ‘The Currency of Learning: Global Perspectives on Financial Education’. The research comes after last month’s announcement by the UK Government that teaching financial literacy will be mandatory in all primary and secondary schools in England by 2028.
Santander’s report, which looks at attitudes, beliefs and knowledge around financial education across ten Santander markets1, finds people rank financial education second only to maths in importance in the list of core school subjects. However, it has not historically been adequately delivered – 84% of those who do not remember receiving financial education at school said that they wish that they had been taught it.
In the gap left by a lack of financial education in schools, social media is increasingly sought out as a source of information with one in five people across the ten countries looking up financial matters on social media.
The urgent need for financial education is laid bare in the research, which demonstrates a mismatch between claimed and actual financial literacy. Globally, 61% of respondents claim to be very or fairly knowledgeable about financial matters. In the UK, this increases to 71%. However, when asked a question about inflation2, only 32% of people across markets and 40% of UK respondents answered correctly.
The report also looks at awareness among adults of the investment products they use, including pensions, retirement plans and other investments. Awareness of pension ownership is low in the UK compared to actual ownership – 75% of UK adults have a pension, but only 60% said they did. This may mean these assets are not being used or invested properly.
Britons are risk-averse when it comes to investing, with just 31% saying they would be willing to invest their savings in stocks and shares. Most (55%) describe themselves as unwilling to do so. This compares to the strong investing culture in the US, where 62% of people invest in stocks. The report finds investing is the top area of financial education Americans wish they could learn more about.
Mike Regnier, CEO of Santander UK, said: “Our research highlights both the timeliness of the Government’s decision to introduce compulsory financial education for primary and secondary school pupils in England, and the importance of the initiatives we run at Santander UK – such as our partnership with the Foundation for Education Development (FED). Together we have produced a curriculum map for supporting the Government and schools to fulfil the commitment to teach financial education in English primary schools.
“Mandatory financial education, which we have been calling for, will help establish a stronger knowledge of financial and economic concepts, benefiting not only individuals, but the UK economy at large.”
Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: “At present, too many children leave school without a basic financial education, including the skills they will need to manage money. As a Government, we have listened and are taking action: financial education will become compulsory in primary schools as part of a new requirement to teach citizenship, and there will be a renewed emphasis on financial education in secondary schools.
"We’re also providing people with information and support throughout their life to make their savings work harder for them, including new targeted support which will allow firms to engage directly with customers to suggest products that are right for them.”
Santander is hosting a series of free money management sessions across its Work Cafés nationwide, as part of its ongoing commitment to improving the quality and accessibility of financial education.
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Notes to editors
[1] The UK, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Chile, Uruguay, Portugal, Mexico, Poland.
[2] Question: ‘Assuming the annual rate of inflation halves in your country, but stays above zero, which of the following will be true about the general cost of goods and services in general this time next year?’
Methodology
For Santander, Ipsos interviewed representative quota samples of adults in ten markets using its online i:omnibus and ad hoc services: 2,139 aged 16-75 in the UK, 2,099 aged 18-75 in the US, 1,970 aged 16-65 in Portugal, 2,001 aged 18-65 in Chile, 2,002 aged 18-65 in Argentina, 1,454 aged 18-55 in Uruguay, 2,022 aged 18-65 in Mexico, 2,028 aged 18-65 in Brazil, 2,118 aged 16-75 in Spain, and 2,073 aged 16-75 in Poland.
Fieldwork took place between 25th April and 21st May 2025. The samples obtained are representative of the national populations with quotas on age, gender, region and working status. The data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions in each market for age, working status and social grade within gender, and for government office region and education, to reflect the adult populations of each market in which the research was conducted.