In November 2018, the Gemma initiative held a seminar on the findings of a survey on financial literacy in Malta. The survey was based on the OECD / INFE financial education Toolkit. The survey is one of the initiatives co-financed under the ESF 2.69 project on addressing vulnerable people and professionals working with vulnerable people.
The final report of the survey can now be downloaded by clicking the button on the right. The Table below presents selected findings:
The most popular initiative used by adults in Malta for keeping track of their household finances is by keeping a note of their spending. This is done by 46% of Maltese adults.
95% of adults in Malta make day-to-day decisions about their own money.
35% of Maltese people prefer reading about investment products in Maltese and another 35% prefer reading such documentation in English.
The study shows that a high 93% of adults in Malta are considered as active savers, who save in different ways. 84% of adults in Malta have been saving money by paying money into a savings/deposit account in the last 12 months. 24% have been investing in stocks and shares, while another 21% have been buying bonds or time deposits.
72% of adults in Malta are able to face a major expense equivalent to their income without having to borrow money or ask family members for help.
55% of adults in Malta do not have financial goals.
A worrying 45% of adults in Malta do not have a retirement plan.
These survey findings indicate that some 56% of adults in Malta will very probably rely entirely on their government pension at retirement age.
Only 15% have a private pension plan.
64% of adults in Malta have not encountered a situation in which their income did not cover their living expenses in the last 12 months.
Of the 33% who experienced a situation where income did not cover expenses, 86% used existing resources, by cutting back of spending, spent less or did without.
The most commonly held financial products by adults in Malta include: Savings account – 93%; Credit card – 85%; Current account – 57%; Pre-paid mobile phone – 52%.
31% considered various options from one company to choose their pension fund. While 29% had not consider any other options at all.
62% of Maltese people keep a close personal watch on their financial affairs.
2 in 3 adults in Malta keep a close personal watch on their financial affairs, whilst 1 in 3 adults do not agree.
3 in 4 adults in Malta do not have too much debt right now, whilst 13% said that they have.
Where 95% of adults in Malta always/often pay their bills on time, the average of all participating countries stands at 79% and of OECD countries at 84%.
Some 80% of adults in Malta always/often take careful consideration of whether they can afford to buy something prior to buying it. This finding compares well with the average of all participating countries and of OECD countries, which stand at 80% and 79% respectively.
Some 95% of adults in Malta always pay their bills on time, whilst a low 1% never pay their bills on time.
44% rate their overall knowledge on financial matters as average.
21% consider themselves to possess a very high/ quite high level of overall knowledge on financial matters.