Online financial and demographic education for workers: experimental evidence from an Italian pension fund

This study experimentally tests a low-cost, Internet-based, online literacy intervention program implemented with the largest employer-based pension fund in Italy. This program, called Financial Education and Planning for a Long Life included: 1) an online instructional video on financial, and demographic, (survival) literacy; 2) an experimental design to evaluate the impact of the online videoprogram on financial and demographic literacy, as well as and on short-term behavioral changes in behavior; and 3) a follow-up to assess the impact of the intervention program on subsequent choices of available investment lines in the Italian pension fund. Finlife was designed as a low-cost and, scalable approach aimed at increasing financial and demographic survival literacy, which is consistent with a ‘nudge’ philosophy. Based on the findings, Finlife significantly increased the financial and demographic survival literacy of the participants, and “nudged” them to actively pursue more information and becoming more active in financial decisions.