Free financial literacy program for workers sought

FILE: A worker takes a break at a construction site in Commonwealth Avenue Quezon City on Tuesday (April 9, 2024), a national holiday because of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor). (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

MANILA – Senator Jinggoy Estrada has filed a bill requiring employers to provide free financial literacy programs for their employees to help them make informed financial decisions.

Senate Bill No. 2630 or the Personal Finance Education in the Workplace Act, filed on April 14, aims to equip workers with knowledge and skills to manage their resources and become financially stable.

“The role of employers to take a lead in this endeavor cannot be undermined because they provide the most accessible venues and channels for such initiatives,” Estrada said in a statement Monday.

The bill seeks to address the low financial literacy rate among Filipino adults, with only 1 percent answering financial literacy questions correctly, according to a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas survey in 2021.

Estrada, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development, said under the bill, employers would be mandated to cover topics such as behavioral finance, savings, debt management, investment, insurance, retirement planning, and other relevant personal finance areas.