Numerous studies in recent years have repeatedly led to rather disappointing results regarding the state of economic and financial literacy in Austria. The current picture is similar across the European Union.

Risk awareness, risk perception, and risk protection are fundamental components of the “insurance” business model. The Austrian Insurance Association (VVO) has been involved in financial education for many years, i.e. through cooperation with numerous educational institutions. In addition, the VVO attaches great importance to social responsibility and, in this context, to supporting education in particular.

12 recommendations

Insurance Europe has recently developed and published twelve industry recommendations on the topic of financial literacy. (See These recommendations reinforce the view that insurance literacy should be considered an essential component of comprehensive financial education. Other proposals include integrating financial and insurance education into national school curricula, supporting inclusion, access, and digital tools, coordinating pension information with the appropriate tracking tools, and finally, introducing a European Financial Literacy Day!

A financially literate population is better able to build long-term savings, invest with confidence, and engage in capital markets. Financial literacy is therefore also one of the keys to achieving the EU’s strategic goals.

#InvestInYou

As part of the Savings and Investment Union, at the end of September 2025, the EU-Commission presented two initiatives (#InvestInYou) to strengthen the financial knowledge of the EU population and the EU capital market. These are so-called “savings and investment accounts” and a strategy to promote financial literacy. Together, these two initiatives are intended to empower particularly retail investors to invest their money more productively and promote economic growth in the EU.

As the EU has little legislative competence in the field of education, the strategy is formulated in the form of a recommendation to the member states. Local willingness to optimize and close cooperation between the EU Commission and the member states are therefore crucial to actually improving the financial education and hence the financial and insurance literacy of EU citizens.

The proposed EU strategy for promoting financial literacy is based on four pillars.

  • Coordination and best practices: The EU-Commission will bring together stakeholders to facilitate the exchange of information on successful national and international initiatives and promote the adoption of best practices by member states, including measures tailored to the needs of specific groups.
  • Communication and awareness raising: The EU-Commission will launch an EU-wide campaign to complement and reinforce national efforts to raise citizens‘ awareness of financial issues.
  • Funding for financial literacy initiatives, including research: Member States will be encouraged to use existing EU funding instruments to support initiatives and research.
  • Monitoring progress and assessing impact: The EU-Commission will conduct regular Eurobarometer surveys and encourage member states to develop assessment tools to track progress.

Improving financial literacy for all people at all stages of life should ultimately promote a stronger investment culture among EU citizens!

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