Table 1.

Financial Literacy Questions in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the 2009 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS)

Concept	Question	Answer options
Interest rates and compounding	Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2% per year. After 5 years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?	More than $102 Exactly $102 Less than $102 Don't know Refused
Inflation	Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year. After 1 year, would you be able to buy more than today, exactly the same as today, or less than today with the money in this account?	More than today Exactly the same as today Less than today Don't know Refused
Risk Diversification	Do you think that the following statement is true or false: buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund?	True False Don't know Refused

Additional Financial Literacy Questions in the 2009 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS)
Concept	Question	Answer options
Mortgages	A 15-year mortgage typically requires higher monthly payments than a 30-year mortgage but the total interest over the life of the loan will be less.	True False Don't know Refused
Bond Pricing	If interest rates rise, what will typically happen to bond prices?	They will rise They will fall They will stay the same There is no relationship Don't know Refused

Note: The answer categorized as correct is italicized in the last column.