During a recent Citi-SMU symposium on financial literacy for young adults, financial education specialists warned that it could be too late to start managing your finances at 50. Despite the benefits of financial education, there is no formalised financial literacy curriculum in schools, said Associate Dean of the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business and Professor of Finance Benedict Koh. To have the greatest impact, financial education should begin before an individual starts work, Prof Koh said. Unlike the West which has a system of social security, financial literacy is more important here as the individual is responsible for his own accounts, added Prof Koh. He called for deliberate policy intervention to improve financial literacy among young adults. Schools and universities can offer a financial literacy elective, Prof Koh suggested.