Financial literacy centre gets international recognition

The New Zealand Centre for Personal Finance Education has joined the OECD’s International Network on Financial Education.

The centre, which is a joint initiative between Westpac and Massey University, aims to empower New Zealanders to make more financially savvy decisions.

As a member of the network, the centre will have access to financial literacy documents issued by the OECD, and invited to attend global OECD financial education events. The network’s purpose is to discuss issues, new developments, and programmes related to financial education.

“I’m really pleased that our centre has been recognised at an international level as making a contribution to financial literacy,” says centre director Dr Pushpa Wood. “It will also be incredibly useful to be connected into such an important global network to make sure that we keep up to date with the latest trends and best practice.

“The centre has an important role to play in improving the financial literacy and economic wellbeing of New Zealanders, but I also think that we can make a global contribution by having input into the OECD’s financial education guidelines and awareness programmes.”

The New Zealand Centre for Personal Finance Education’s current financial literacy projects include a certificate programme for personal financial educators, a longitudinal study to identify why so many New Zealanders struggle with their finances, and the Retirement Expenditure Survey for Workplace Savings NZ.