“Why would I give money to a pension plan when retirement is so far away? That was one of the stupidest mistakes I ever made.” This, said Donald A. Stewart, chair of the task force and CEO of Sun Life Financial, was one of the many comments that Canadians shared with the Task Force on Financial Literacy while it configured it’s recommendations and report.
Today, at a sold out Economic Club luncheon at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Stewart formally shared some insight from the report, which was publicly released yesterday.
He pointed out that while financial understanding has always been a part of his life, it’s not something the average Canadian family talks about at the dinner table. Building financial literacy is the responsibility of today’s generation, he said, not future generations.
As he covered the key points of the report, he stressed that financial education needs to start at an earlier age and needs to be a matter of lifetime learning. Learning that needs to happens in schools, but also in the community and the workplace.
And Stewart has put action behind his words. Sun Life Financial and the Economic Club of Canada announced the creation of the Junior Economic Club to help get youth involved in financial literacy.
“Financial literacy is a matter of survival,” Steward said. “Now is the time to move forward.”
Related links:
Financial literacy task force calls for urgent action
Canadians and their money: Building a brighter financial future.