A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA URGING THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO INTEGRATE BASIC ECONOMIC AND CONSUMER PRINCIPLES AND PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING COURSEWORK INTO THE MODEL LEARNER GOALS OR CONTENT AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ESTABLISHED FOR MONTANA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

WHEREAS, average life expectancy for Americans has increased throughout the 20th century, and the average length of retirement has increased from 5 years at the beginning of the century to 17 years today; and

WHEREAS, retirees today need a monthly income of about 80% of salary earned during their final year of work to live comfortably in retirement; and

WHEREAS, the increasing use of defined contribution retirement plans, deferred compensation plans, individual retirement accounts, and other saving plans requires increased financial planning knowledge; and

WHEREAS, the adequacy of a person's income in retirement rests increasingly on the shoulders of the individual; and

WHEREAS, those most vulnerable to poverty in their retirement years will be those who failed to plan for financial adequacy in retirement; and

WHEREAS, securing adequate retirement income requires financial planning and action throughout a person's worklife; and

WHEREAS, a 1997 national survey of high school seniors, which was conducted by the Dean of Business at Marquette University, demonstrated that most high school seniors lack the financial knowledge needed to manage their lives and that their knowledge was weakest in the survey category of saving and investing; and

WHEREAS, of the students surveyed, 62% answered that they would have no liability for credit card charges if their card were stolen and used by a thief, only 32% knew that the interest on their savings account might be subject to income tax, and 85% believed that a U.S. savings bond, a savings account, or a checking account would have a higher rate of growth than stocks over 18 years; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that Article X, section 9, subsection (3), of the Montana Constitution provides the Board of Public Education with general supervision of the public school system.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

That the Board of Public Education be strongly urged to integrate basic economic and consumer principles and personal financial planning coursework, including retirement planning principles, into the model learner goals or content and performance standards established for Montana's public schools.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of State send copies of this resolution to the Board of Public Education, the Office of Public Instruction, the Montana School Boards Association, the Montana Rural Education Association, the School Administrators of Montana, the Montana Federation of Teachers, and the Montana Education Association.

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I hereby certify that the within joint resolution,

SJ 0002, originated in the Senate.

Secretary of the Senate

President of the Senate

Signed this	day

of	, .

Speaker of the House

Signed this	day

of	, .

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2

INTRODUCED BY S. BARTLETT

BY REQUEST OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS

A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA URGING THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO INTEGRATE BASIC ECONOMIC AND CONSUMER PRINCIPLES AND PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING COURSEWORK INTO THE MODEL LEARNER GOALS OR CONTENT AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ESTABLISHED FOR MONTANA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS.