WASHINGTON – CUNA and NAFCU each wrote the Financial Literacyand Education Commission in response to their request for publiccomment on a national strategy for financial education as requiredunder the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. The three mostimportant elements to a national strategy, according to NAFCU,include promoting financial education in public schools andlow-income areas, educating consumers about the importance ofbudgeting, saving, and planning for retirement, and teachingconsumers about responsible use of credit and the effects ofbankruptcy. Though the commission only requested three topelements, CUNA felt the need to include five. Financial educationis not a long-term goal, but a permanent commitment, CUNA AssociateGeneral Counsel Mary Dunn and Senior Regulatory Counsel CatherineOrr wrote. Additionally, parental involvement and advocacy iscrucial. Third, CUNA said, financial education efforts must reachout to those of modest means. The national strategy must alsotarget lenders and promote “responsible lending.” Finally, Dunn andOrr wrote, the programs must cover the entire complexity offinancial topics and services. The school system is one way toinculcate financial education efforts at an early age. “NAFCUencourages the Commission to seek federal legislation to includefinancial literacy programs into the mandatory K-12 curriculum,while also allowing individual states to mold additional standardsthat fit their community,” the letter signed by NAFCU President andCEO Fred Becker read. “For example, a financial literacy class, orthe passing of a financial literacy test, could be made aprerequisite for one's high school graduation.” Both groups listeda number of resources for financial education in the schools. CUNAoffers a number of programs to credit unions for their youngermembers to use, such as Googolplex: The Credit Union Guide forStudent Moneymakers. For adolescents, credit unions can link fromtheir Web site to Guides to Independence, which include online,interactive courses for teens and young adults on budgeting and howto buy a car. Dunn and Orr also pointed out that CUNA is activelyinvolved in the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)and the Cooperative Extension System and has partnered with them todevelop the High School Financial Planning Program (HSFPP). CUNAalso has a representative on the board of the Jump$tart Coalitionfor Personal Financial Literacy and is a member of the ConsumerFederation of America's America Saves National Advisory Committee.This year, the National Credit Union Foundation and CFA teamed upto increase savings rates among lower-income households. NAFCUlisted Operation HOPE (which NCUA has recently partnered with) as apotentially helpful resource in the development and follow throughof a strategy, as well as local businesses and community groupslike churches, community centers, libraries, YMCAs, and local boysand girls clubs to promote financial education. NAFCU also pointedout that it recently developed a program based on the FederalDeposit Insurance Corporation's Money Smart program. The program istailored to credit unions and targets those outside the financialmainstream regarding long-term savings and careful debt management.But financial education is not only for the young, so the groupsalso recommended retirement savings education and working withemployers to offer financial literacy resources and programs in theworkplace. According to CUNA, all this can be accomplished withexisting resources. “We do not think that it is necessary ordesirable to develop new financial education programs at this time.Based on the experience of CUNA and credit unions, we believe thatsufficient resources are currently available to educate consumersand increase their awareness of key financial matters,” CUNA'sletter read. Dunn and Orr did say that the commission shouldestablish a set of `best practices' for financial education. CUNAsuggested that television and mass media advertising be betterutilized. It also recommended that the commission create a focusaround user-friendly information, partnerships for programs andmaterials, distribution, rewards and incentives for programparticipants and educators, and standards for qualified educators.-

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