Fewer than 1 in 3 US adults gets all the questions right. They were designed by economists Annamaria Lusardi and Olivia Mitchell. Financial literacy means feeling equipped to make financial decisions. It's linked to how comfortable you are in later life. People with a low understanding of risk are twice as likely to be constrained by debt, lack 1 month’s worth of emergency savings and to worry about their level of retirement income, than people with a good understanding.