Many public benefit programs – such as cash welfare and Medicaid – limit eligibility to those with few or no assets. If individuals or families have assets exceeding the state’s limit, they must “spend down” longer-term savings in order to receive what is often short-term public...

In this paper we seek to determine the effect of assets held in early adult life on later outcomes. We specifically look at wages, employment prospects, general health and malaise. We employ a number of statistical techniques in our search for the causal effect of assets on adult health and...

The ability to build assets allows an individual or family to meet long-term financial goals and create economic stability for the future. This toolkit contains resources on goal setting, action planning and information on financial products and government supports that can help with building...

To qualify for TANF and SNAP, families in many states must prove, among other criteria, that their income and assets do not exceed state or federal levels. These asset limits are caps on the amount of cash, savings, or material property that a family can hold when applying. In the case of TANF,...

This paper has two main goals. First, we provide a review of 38 studies on the relationship between assets and children’s educational attainment. Second, we discuss implications for Child Development Accounts (CDAs) policies. CDAs have been proposed as a potentially novel and promising asset...

Current income is usually insufficient to cover college costs in most families, who believe that they must save for college for their children. Furthermore, effects of household savings and asset holding may extend beyond financial security and affect long-term development of children through...

This brief explains the asset-building approach to poverty reduction.  While many families who live on low incomes struggle to meet basic needs, they miss out on opportunities to save and invest - opportunities that are critical in overcoming poverty. Without income, people are unable to get by...

This study by the Ontario Securities Commission examines Canadians’ crypto ownership and knowledge. It found 13% of Canadians currently own crypto assets or crypto funds. The study also found most Canadians did not have a working knowledge of the practical, legal and regulatory dimensions of...

This report, “Determinants of Asset Building,” provides a policy-oriented conceptual framework that has the potential to explain saving and asset accumulation across the entire population and to account for the low levels of saving and asset accumulation in the low-income population. The report...

Asset Building for low–income people through matched savings challenges the focus of traditional poverty-alleviation strategies on income support to enable the poor to escape from poverty and improve their economic and social status. It does not deny the necessity nor the benefits of such support...

An individual asset account that can be accessed before the age of 18 could help children in care to develop a sense of control and some measure of security in their lives, support key transitions post-16, overcome some of the barriers to participation in extra-curricular activities, and reward...

Individual development accounts (IDAs) help low-income families save by matching their personal savings for specific investments, such as a first home, business capitalization, or higher education and training. The Assets for Independence (AFI) program is a federally supported IDA grant program...

Canadians were more asset resilient just prior to the pandemic than they were at the turn of the millennium. That resilience continues to be tested as we enter the second year of the pandemic. For the purposes of this article, a household is asset resilient when it has liquid assets that are at...

Matched Savings programs, or Individual Development Accounts, are a financial empowerment strategy that aim to build financial stability and reduce poverty. These programs build sustainable livelihoods by working with participants to earn savings while learning about money management, build regular...

Financial stability affords families with low incomes a bulwark against the crises of sporadic income, unexpected expenses, and a reliance on predatory fringe services and also provides an opportunity to start actively planning for a solid financial future. Achieving a stable financial foundation...

This is a webinar presenting the results of the Building Savings For Success evaluation report of matched savings account programs in 2 United States cities. One city used a coaching model, the other a case management model. The program showed that participants increased their liquid assets and...

These results are from the new study "Debt and assets among senior Canadian families." released in April 2018. The study examines changes in debt, assets and net worth among Canadian families whose major income earner was 65 years of age or older. In recent years, household debt has increased....

The Policy Research Initiative of the federal government organized an extremely interesting and well-attended conference on “Asset-Based Social Policies” on December 8-9, 2003. There is quite a buzz around this broad theme in Canadian social policy circles these days, and some community-level...

While the progress of the IDA field to date has surprised even its most ardent supporters, its potential in the coming years is greater. We think this progress stems from two fundamental strengths: first, asset equity is an idea whose time has come; and second, individuals and institutions from all...

As evidenced by the rich array of activity documented in the course of conducting this field scan, OCS is to be commended for the amount of innovation, excitement and experimentation it has catalyzed through the various ASSET Initiative projects over the past several years. Because of this effort...

CFED has developed a Household Financial Security Framework to help us think through what it takes, at the household level, to build financial security over time. Reducing poverty and achieving financial security and empowerment is a dynamic process in which households iteratively gain skills,...

This report is the second of two complementary reports that address the issue of economic security for Indiana households. The Self-Sufficiency Standard approach to economic security consists of three elements: securing the costs of daily basic needs, creating an emergency savings fund, and...

For generations, federal policies have helped Americans build assets. Millions of individuals and households have taken advantage of these policies to plan for the future, buy homes, prepare for retirement, send their children to college, and weather unexpected financial storms. Today – through a...

The widening wealth gap in the United States is a worrisome sign that millions of families nationwide do not have enough in assets to offer better opportunities for future generations. On the basis of data collected using the National Asset Scorecard for Communities of Color (NASCC) survey, we...

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) peoples have long faced barriers to asset building. More than half of AI/AN populations are un- or underbanked, financial services often don’t operate on reservations, and access to capital is difficult. Native peoples have been excluded from financial...