Financial literacy and financial decision-making at older ages

How well older households manage their wealth holdings is an important determinant of financial security during retirement, yet little known about decision-making and how this relates to literacy. Our paper fills gap by measuring literacy among persons in the Singapore Life Panel examining its association with timely credit card debt repayment, stock market participation, age-based investment risk diversification. Most respondents understand interest compounding inflation, but fewer than half know Almost all holders pay off balances a manner, only 40% hold stocks; 18% $1000+ assets portfolios consistent age-appropriate glide paths. We further show that one-unit higher score associated greater propensity (1.5 ppts), (8.3 follow path (1.7 ppts).