According to research from Boon Brokers, which surveyed around 1,000 young adults aged from 18 to 24 years old across England, 93% wanted mortgages to be taught in schools.
Financial education in the UK is devolved, so each UK nation has different requirements. In England, financial education is included in the national curriculum for secondary schools and has been since 2014.
Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said they were not aware that financial literacy was part of the national curriculum.
Around 58% of young adults said no facilities were provided in school to learn about mortgages, with 17% saying their only exposure was from web-based tools.
Approximately 39% of young adults said their parents were the primary source of their financial education.
Welcome to the future: how collaboration is driving the shift to digital home buying
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
Boon Brokers said this could mean that young adults are receiving “outdated misinformation, generation after generation”.
Around 14% said social media was their primary source of education, only slightly less than the 17% who cited school.
However, 67% said they think they have an above-average understanding of mortgages, which Boon Brokers said could show a “financial blind spot” and noted that the “lack of awareness is becoming dangerous”.
It said the “misplaced confidence can lead to a vicious cycle of debt, negative equity, and potentially repossession”.
When asked how important mortgage education was, 92% of respondents rated it between seven and 10 out of 10, with 28% rating it as 10 – the highest level of importance.
Gerard Boon, managing director of Boon Brokers, said: “Sadly, I’m not surprised by the results of the study. Even though financial literacy should have been taught in the national curriculum since 2014, our advisers rarely see any foundational knowledge from young adults who enquire for our mortgage brokerage services.
“I would strongly advise the government to review the financial literacy education in school, as it is clearly not fit for purpose in its current form.”
