ASU Alumni Financial Anxiety Survey Results

About the survey
• A total of 2020 ASU Alumni were surveyed about their
current level of financial anxiety.
• The data was weighted to match ASU’s current Alumni
profile using the following demographic characteristics:
• Age
• Gender
• Income Level
• Ethnicity
• The responses to the 11 survey questions were also used to
compute Net Economic Anxiety score for each individual.

Planning for the
Future
Job Market
Security
Managing Current
Payments
• How financially secure
do you currently feel?
• How often do you feel
anxious about your
financial situation?
• Does concern about
your personal financial
situation currently ever
cause you to lose
sleep?
• How much do you fear
losing your job in the next
12 months?
• If you were to lose your
job, how confident would
you feel about finding a
new job within six
months?
being unable to make a
mortgage/rent payment?
car payment?
student loan payment?
How Economic Anxiety Was Measured
ASU Alumni were asked the following set of questions.
Each question could be categorized as pertaining to job market security, managing
current payments, planning for the future, or overall economic security.
Overall Economic
Security
not having enough
saved for retirement?
not being able to
afford college for your
children?
facing an unexpected
medical bill?

Approximately 11% of Alumni are either unemployed or have a high level of fear that they will lose their job in the
upcoming year. An additional 26% of Alumni are somewhat stressed about losing their job.
How much do you fear losing your job in next 12
months?
62.7
25.9
11.3
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Percent
How much do you fear losing your job in next 12 months?
Not at all or not applicable A little A lot or I am Unemployed and Seeking Work

Significantly more Alumni are stressed about the prospect of trying to find a new job than they are about loosing their
current one.
If you were to lose your job, how confident would you
feel about finding a new job within six months?
44.1
38.4
17.4
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Percent
If you were to lose your job, how confident would you feel about
finding a new job within six months?
Very confident or not applicable Somewhat confident Not at all confident

Overall, ASU Alumni feel moderate levels of stress
regarding job market security.
Alumni feel fairly confident that they will not lose
their current job, but express concern about their
ability to find a new job if it were to become
necessary.
Job Market Security

ASU Alumni have a high level of confidence in their ability to make their current car payment.
How much do you fear being unable to make a
car payment?
78.2
16.8
5.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Percent
How much do you fear being unable to make a car payment?
Not at all or not applicable A little A lot

ASU Alumni feel slightly higher levels of stress regarding student loan payments, but it is still relatively low overall.
student loan payment?
76.7
13.6
9.6
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
Percent
How much do you fear being unable to make a student loan
payment?
Valid Not at all or not applicable Valid A little Valid A lot

Mortgage or rent payments seem to be the current payment that ASU Alumni are most stressed about. However, the
number of individuals that are significantly stressed is still relatively low.
61.8
29.2
9.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Percent

Overall, ASU Alumni feel low levels of stress
regarding their ability to manage current payments.
The most stressful current payment appears to be
rent or mortgage payments.
Managing Current Payments

Close to half of Alumni are concerned that they will be unable to pay for their children’s education.
How much do you fear not being able to afford
college for your children?
56.2
23.9
19.9
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Percent
How much do you fear not being able to afford college for your
children?

The majority of Alumni are at least a little bit stressed about facing an unexpected medical bill.
How much do you fear facing an unexpected
medical bill?
34.0
45.3
20.7
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Percent
How much do you fear facing an unexpected medical bill?

Very few Alumni feel confident that they will have enough saved for retirement.
How much do you fear for not saving enough
for retirement?
18.3
48.5
33.1
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Percent
How much do you fear for not saving enough for retirement?

Overall, ASU Alumni feel high levels of stress
regarding their ability to financially prepare for their
future.
Alumni are most stressed about their ability to
save enough for retirement.
Planning For the Future

Alumni expressed moderate levels of financial security.
How financially secure do you currently feel?
32.4
49.5
18.1
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
Percent
Do you think you are…
Financially Secure Somewhat Finacially Secure Not Financially Secure

Alumni also expressed moderate levels of financial anxiety.
How often do you feel anxious about your financial
situation?
29.8
53.3
16.8
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
Percent
Which one of the following best describes you?
You are rarely or never anxious about your financial situation
You are sometimes anxious about your financial situation
You are frequently anxious about your financial situation

Approximately a quarter of alumni have lost sleep due to stress caused by their financial situation.
Does concern about your personal financial situation
currently ever cause you to lose sleep?
72.2
27.8
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
Percent
Does concern about your personal financial situation currently ever
cause you to lose sleep?
No Yes

Overall, ASU Alumni feel moderate levels of stress
regarding their overall financial situation.
Alumni report moderate levels of financial security
and financial anxiety. At least a quarter of them
have at some point experienced enough financial
stress to make them lose sleep.
Overall Financial Security

Using the responses to and
relative importance of each
question, a net income anxiety
score was calculated for each
individual. The score is on a
scale of 0-100, with 0
representing no financial anxiety
and 100 representing the highest
levels of income anxiety.
There is a strong skew towards
lower levels of financial anxiety,
with a score of zero comprising
the largest group.
Net Economic Anxiety Score

As is expected, financial anxiety levels decline as income level increases.
Financial Anxiety by Income Level

The lowest levels of financial anxiety
occur in those who are 65 and older.
Moderate levels of financial anxiety are
seen in those ages 18-34 and 55-64.
The highest levels of financial anxiety
occur in those who are between the
ages of 35 and 54. Those in this
category would be more likely to have
families to support and are typically
thinking more about planning for
retirement.
Financial Anxiety by Age

Woman reported higher levels of
financial anxiety than men.
Of those surveyed, women reported
making significantly less than men
reported. The majority of women (62%)
made between $25k and $50k, while
the majority of men (60%) reported
making $100k or more.
Financial Anxiety by Gender

Those who were Asian, White, or
Hispanic reported the lowest levels of
financial anxiety.
Those who were African American,
American Indian, or Alaskan Native
reported significantly higher levels of
financial anxiety.
Financial Anxiety by Ethnicity

With access to benchmark information on
• How the general population scores on these questions
• How all alumni score on these question
we would be able to assess if there are any statistically
significant differences between ASU Alumni and the general
population, as well as between ASU Alumni and all college
education individuals.
This sort of analysis would provide better information on the
areas in which ASU is preforming strongly as well as areas for
improvement when it comes to financially preparing its Alumni.
Additional Analysis with Benchmarks

ASU Alumni Financial Anxiety Survey Results

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