One-in-ten adults would fail a simple personal finance exam
Recent research by Abbey Current Accounts has revealed that as many as one-in-ten British adults would score less than 40 per cent in a simple personal finance examination..Abbey arranged for 1031 adults to answer 10 simple questions taken from an examination paper with an equivalent difficulty level difficulty to a GCSE. The results highlight a worrying absence of basic personal finance skills amongst British adults. Some 86 per cent had no idea that they get six weeks to pay back a credit card before it accrues interest and 47 per cent did not know that negative equity is where your mortgage is larger than the value of your house. Meanwhile, 23 per cent were unaware that failure to pay a secured loan meant that your house could be sold to pay for the loan. Steve Shore, head of banking at Abbey, commented: "While most people are in the realms of a GCSE pass almost five million British adults would fail a simple personal finance exam. "Quite worrying given we selected questions that we felt everyone with a bank account should know. "Abbey certainly welcomes the government's plans to introduce a much-needed personal finance element into the curriculum. "We would also urge anyone who doesn't understand something on their bank statement to contact their branch or a financial adviser."
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