The Impact of Financial Education in the Workplace: Evidence from a Randomised Controlled Trial

Last registered on February 04, 2026

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

The Impact of Financial Education in the Workplace: Evidence from a Randomised Controlled Trial

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0017835

Initial registration date

February 04, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

February 04, 2026, 10:10 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name

Kenneth De Beckker

Affiliation

KU Leuven

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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Bert Schreurs

PI Affiliation

VUB

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Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2026-02-12

End date

2026-06-30

Keywords

Education

Additional Keywords

Financial Literacy, Financial Education, Perceived Financial Security, Financial Efficacity, Financial Stress, Financial Shame

JEL code(s)

G53

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

Using a randomised controlled trial (RCT), this study evaluates the impact of a workplace financial education initiative on employees’ financial literacy and financial well-being, including perceived financial security, financial self-efficacy, financial stress, and financial shame.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

De Beckker, Kenneth and Bert Schreurs. 2026. "The Impact of Financial Education in the Workplace: Evidence from a Randomised Controlled Trial." AEA RCT Registry. February 04. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17835-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2026-02-15

Intervention End Date

2026-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Financial Literacy, Perceived Financial Security, Financial Efficacity, Financial Stress, Financial Shame

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The intervention consisted of a multi-component workplace financial education program, including a budgeting workshop, a webinar on consumption, and a workshop on savings and investments. Outcomes were measured at baseline and post-intervention and compared between the treatment and control groups, the latter of which did not receive any formal financial education during the experimental period.

Experimental Design Details

Not available

Randomization Method

Employee groups were randomly allocated to an early-treatment group or a delayed-treatment (waitlist control) group. The delayed-treatment group received the intervention after the primary evaluation period, allowing for causal estimation of the program’s impact.

Randomization Unit

Randomisation was conducted at the employee-group level, with groups randomly assigned to either early or delayed exposure to the intervention.

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes