Financial Services Corps

Today’s complex financial marketplace makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to understand and navigate the array of products and services available from a variety of financial service providers. For low to middle income individuals who have fewer financial resources to begin with, a solid grounding in personal finance and a clear understanding of the options and implications of one’s financial decisions are all the more critical.

While there is a wide range of financial education curricula available, there is a dearth of financial advisors and educators to help low and middle-income families understand the complexities of the financial services sector, access assistance when facing financial difficulties, and plan for savings and investment goals.

The creation of a Financial Services Corps (FSC) would help these households address their personal finances and plan for their future by:

1. Enlisting financial experts and advisors to deliver personalized financial counseling and planning to low to middle income households;
2. Providing the tools, resources, support to local, regional, and workplace based initiatives to ensure these families are effectively reached;
3. Collecting and analyze data to understand the short-, medium-, and long-term financial education, counseling, and planning needs of these households; and
4. Exploring new strategies and approaches to financial education and advice through an innovations fund.

For the full text of the policy proposal, please see the PDF attached below.