Marić: More than half of Croats are financially illiterate

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić stated on Wednesday that Croatia is above the global average in financial literacy, but there is still a lot of room for improvement, considering that more than half of citizens cannot be characterized as financially literate.

Marić believes that positive changes are visible, from the state level which has raised awareness of the importance of balancing income and expenses through fiscal and budgetary policy.

Similar principles can be applied to the corporate system and every individual, says Marić, who participated in a forum organized by the Association of Pension Fund Management Companies, the Faculty of Economics, and Hanza Media, where the project “Finance for Everyone” and research conducted as part of that project were presented.

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He notes that discussions about financial literacy mostly focus on negative risks, such as the global financial crisis or loans indexed in Swiss francs. On the other hand, he adds, financial literacy should not only reduce these negative risks but also increase positive ones, in the sense that citizens should be enabled, through an additional level of education, to manage their finances more effectively.

Marić warned that there is a lack of a general approach in informing citizens regarding the second pension pillar, as well as generally about pension savings and deductions from salaries, and that people today are researching this more on an individual level.

He presented the data that more than 90 percent of young people entering the workforce do not choose a pension fund, but it is assigned to them by random selection.

“This only indicates that the level of financial literacy and awareness is quite low here as well,” he asserted.

Workshops in seven Croatian cities

The project “Finance for Everyone” included workshops in seven Croatian cities aimed at raising citizens’ financial literacy and facilitating everyday financial decision-making.

The workshops were held from October to December last year and were attended by more than 350 interested citizens, designed and led by lecturers from the Faculty of Economics, Andrea Lučić and Dajana Barbić.

As a result of the workshops, a research project titled “Financial Education for a Better Life in Retirement” was created.

It was established that Croatia has 44 percent financially literate citizens, which is above the global average; however, the young scientists warned that still 56 percent of citizens, regardless of their level of (ill)iteracy, make financial decisions and use financial services daily.

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According to the research conducted by Hanfa and HNB, the youngest and oldest populations have the lowest levels of financial literacy, and they are mostly found in the area of the Croatian coast and Dalmatia.

At the workshops, which were available to everyone, citizens could familiarize themselves with various aspects important regarding finances and related decisions. Of about 350 workshop participants, 128 correctly participated in the experimental research or survey, which aimed to determine whether financial education, or education through the workshop, has an effect on the level of financial knowledge and attitudes towards retirement planning.

Barbić and Lučić managed to prove that the workshops lead to greater financial knowledge.

Marić: Kuščević’s initiative is good

When asked about the announcement from the Ministry of Administration that citizens will be able to pay tax debts and fees to the state via POS devices or cards and in installments, Minister Marić said that there is already a provision in the regulations that allows tax debtors to repay their tax debts in 24 installments.

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“The initiative through information technology and the overall informatization of public administration is aimed at raising the service to an even higher level in terms of efficiency and accessibility to citizens and taxpayers,” said Marić.

“Certainly, this initiative also aims for public administration to truly be a service to citizens, not an end in itself,” he added.