The latest numbers on financial literacy are out, and they aren't pretty. U.S. adults got just 49% of the questions right on this year's personal finance index test, according to the 2025 Personal Finance Index from TIAA and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center. That's the same failing grade Americans have been earning since the survey began in 2017.
The 2025 P-Fin Index survey was completed online in January by a sample of 3,371 U.S. adults, ages 18 and older. The test uses 28 questions to measure people's overall financial literacy across eight areas in which they routinely function: earning, consuming, saving, investing, borrowing and managing debt, insuring, comprehending risk and go-to information sources.
