Events

This project examines financial fragility in the United States, which is measured as individuals’ ability to cope with unexpected expenses. Using data from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study and the 2015 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, we identify subgroups of the U.S. population that are most financially fragile. We observe widespread fragility across the entire population – more than one- third of Americans are financially fragile. Several years after the financial crisis, financial fragility is not only pervasive, but many middle-income households also suffer from the inability to deal with shocks. Our measure captures several factors that contribute to financial fragility, including lack of assets and indebtedness. The quantitative findings are also supported by qualitative data from focus group interviews. We explore the long-term implications of being financially fragile and its effects on retirement planning – individuals who are fragile in the short term may end up being financially insecure in the long term as well. Our findings point to the need to incentivize short-term savings in a way that is complementary to the institutionalized mechanisms of saving for retirement and other long-term goals. Focus groups also complement our empirical findings regarding the need and benefits of improving financial literacy to make individuals less financially fragile.