The TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) measures knowledge and understanding that enable sound financial decision making and effective management of personal finances among U.S. adults. The P-Fin Index is an annual survey developed by the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, in consultation with Greenwald & Associates. It is unique in its breadth of questions and its coverage of the topics that measure financial literacy. The index is based on responses to 28 questions across eight functional areas: earning, consuming, saving, investing, borrowing/managing debt, insuring, comprehending risk, and go-to information sources.

On average, U.S. adults correctly answered only 49% of the index questions in 2025, the same as in 2017. While low in general among all adults, financial literacy levels tend to be particularly low among certain groups:

• Financial literacy among women lags that of men. There’s almost a 10-point gender gap in the percentage of index questions correctly answered in 2025.
   
• Financial literacy levels among Black and Hispanic Americans are roughly equal, albeit at lower levels compared to Asian and White Americans.
   
• Gen Z correctly answered only 38% of the index questions, on average, in 2025.

Comprehending risk is the functional area where adult financial literacy continues to be lowest. On average, only 36% of these questions were answered correctly in 2025.

• Functional knowledge among women tends to lag that of men in all areas except consuming.
   
• Gen Z functional knowledge is substantially lower for each area compared with older generations. Generational variation is smallest in the area of comprehending risk—even older adults with more financial decision-making experience score low on risk-related questions.