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June 1, 2026 / 10:11 AM EDT

/ CBS News

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Americans' understanding of basic financial concepts has fallen to a 10-year low, raising concerns that households are becoming less prepared to manage debt, savings and retirement decisions, according to a new study from investment giant TIAA and Stanford University's Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center. In 2025, U.S. adults correctly answered only 47% of the 28 questions used to assess financial literacy, down from a high of 52% in 2020 and the lowest score in the decade since the survey began. The decline was driven by a growing share of Americans with very low financial literacy, which has jumped to 25% this year from 20% a decade ago, the study found.The findings are troubling because low financial literacy is linked with worse outcomes, such as carrying higher levels of debt, Surya Kolluri, the head of TIAA Institute, told CBS News. The survey didn't examine why scores declined, but he said possible factors include misleading financial information on social media, weaker overall literacy and the financial strains many households already face."Those with lower levels of financial literacy are four times more likely to have trouble making ends meet," Kolluri said.Women and younger adults scored lower than other groups. Women answered 44% of the questions correctly, compared with 50% for men. Gen Z adults, ages 18 to 29, had the lowest score of any generation, at 38%, while baby boomers had the highest, at 54%.The generation gap is partly due to Gen Z's age, as many aren't likely to be well-versed in the retirement topics addressed in the survey. But Kolluri also suspects it could be due to financial pressures on young people, such as high student debt and a sense that buying a home may be out of reach. Financial burdenEconomists and experts also point to a broader problem: Should the burden of knowledge be placed on consumers, or should the complex financial system be overhauled to make it easier for people to understand what they're buying or signing for? Blaming consumers for failing to understand increasingly complicated products may miss the real problem, they argue.