Measuring Financial Health: Concepts and Considerations

This note provides financial sector policymakers with a discussion of the technical concepts relevant to financial health measurement. The purpose is to explain and demystify the various approaches for a non-technical audience, drawing on existing experiences and the state of the art. The UNSGSA Financial Health Working Group (FHWG) recommends that policymakers develop a financial health survey module – a handful of simple, plain-language questions – that function as a core set of financial health indicators and, when taken together, can provide a single score for an individual’s overall financial health. This note explores several decisions policymakers will confront as they develop a financial health module.