Response to FLEC RFI: TREAS-DO-2026-0001 Request for Information Related to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) Update to the U.S. National Strategy for Financial Literacy

Pellegrini, Andrea; Tither, Emmy

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/133026 Copy

Description

Title

Response to FLEC RFI: TREAS-DO-2026-0001 Request for Information Related to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) Update to the U.S. National Strategy for Financial Literacy

Author(s)

• Pellegrini, Andrea
• Tither, Emmy

Issue Date

2026-04-06

Keyword(s)

• public comment
• financial literacy

Date of Ingest

2026-04-06T16:42:20-05:00

Abstract

The Student Money Management Center (SMMC) provides financial education to students, staff, and parents affiliated with universities across the University of Illinois System, as well as nationally through our Get Savvy webinar series and Making Cents of Money podcast. Since our founding, SMMC has been recognized as a financial literacy and education leader in the field of higher education, and it is from that position that we offer the following comments in response to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission’s (FLEC) request for information on an update to the National Strategy. Our work has underscored a foundational lesson that we urge the Commission to carry into this revision: financial literacy is not a discrete problem to be addressed once and then set aside. It is a lifelong, ecosystem-dependent process. Americans at every life stage, from students navigating their first loans to retirees managing asset decumulation, face distinct financial challenges that require ongoing, contextually appropriate education and support. A National Strategy that does not explicitly account for the full arc of financial engagement will leave critical gaps unaddressed. Equally important is recognizing that financial literacy alone is insufficient. The National Endowment for Financial Education’s (NEFE) Personal Finance Ecosystem framework situates financial knowledge as just one node within a broader system of general skills and competencies, socioeconomics and geography, values and beliefs, family and culture, financial knowledge and skills, decisions and actions, unexpected events, and more (National Endowment for Financial Education, 2026). Even a financially knowledgeable consumer may be unable to act on that knowledge if structural barriers or adverse circumstances prevent it. The revised Strategy should account for this full ecosystem in which Americans make financial decisions.

Type of Resource

text

Genre of Resource

other

Language

eng

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