In the Citi survey, respondents were asked questions about savings and retirement plans, investment goals and values, and understanding about assets and liabilities. The survey found that while 81.7% of the respondents declared themselves to be financially healthy – they only scored 68 points in the Citi financial health index; 60% said they worried about their future financial plans and nearly 40% did not have a retirement fund in place. Many stated that if an emergency struck tomorrow they did not have cash flows to manage. The traditional values of working and saving hard are slowly eroding, with over 50% stating that spending was as important as making money.
The survey also revealed that young female professionals are becoming more investment savvy and for 50% of respondents, salaries were the most important element for building. While the Taiwanese love to invest many are unaware about managing risk and protecting investments. Over 30% owned a mutual fund and more than 25% owned stocks.
Moreover, many respondents look to their parents for financial and investment advice. Given this trend, Citi will promote financial education in remote areas and to disadvantaged groups. It will also develop a family focused financial education campaign and a household budgeting course will be launched this year. Citi will also extend its programs to cover elementary, junior high schools and universities in central, southern and eastern Taiwan and outlying islands.
Morris Li, Taiwan country officer for Citi, said: In response to this low level of awareness and understanding, Citi has declared 2008 as the ‘Year of financial health’.
From the survey results, it’s apparent that a lot of Taiwanese households need to be more prudent and financially savvy.
