Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a bill that seeks to require employers nationwide to provide a free financial literacy program for all its employees.

Estrada said Senate Bill No. 2630 or the proposed “Personal Finance Education in the Workplace Act” mandates employers to help their workers make sound financial decisions and be financially stable.

“The role of employers to take a lead in this endeavor cannot be undermined because they provide the most accessible venues and channels for such initiatives,” Estrada said of SB 2630.

“Kung gugustuhin ng mga employers, magagawan ito ng paraan para maitaas natin ang antas sa kaalaman ng ating mga manggagawa kung paano sila makakapag-ipon, mamuhunan at iba pa (If employers want to, they can do something to level up the financial knowledge of our workers, how they can save and how they can invest, etc.),” Estrada further said.

“This will benefit the employees and workers because it will give them the knowledge and skills to effectively and efficiently manage their resources and allow them to be financially stable,” the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development explained.

With such program in place, companies will, likewise, benefit from financially-stable employees who are more focused on their tasks, and therefore, more productive and satisfied in their work.

The bill seeks to require employers to provide a personal finance education program for all its workers which will include topics on behavioral finance, savings, emergency and resilience fund development, debt management, investment, insurance and retirement planning, and other applicable personal finance programs.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in consultation with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and other concerned government agencies, will be tasked to make available the standard content of the program.

The employer may conduct the program in-house, outsourced, or through other available options.

According to the senator, a survey conducted by the BSP showed that only one percent of surveyed Filipino adults answered the questions on financial literacy correctly.

Further, according to the World Bank, only 25 percent of adult Filipinos are knowledgeable about basic financial concepts, he said.