Debt and finance management education in schools could make children as much as £32,000 richer between the ages of 35 and 49, a new report claims.

With levels of personal debt in the UK growing, the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) has published a new report based on compulsory financial education offered in schools in the US.

Teaching skills such as budgeting, credit management, balancing chequebooks and investment principles in British schools could lead to people being richer by a year's earnings on average between the ages of 35 and 49, according to the report.

The study also found that more than ten million adults experience some kind of difficulty when managing finances.

The report has been welcomed by the ifs School of Finance, which is the only organisation currently offering personal finance qualifications in schools and colleges in England and Wales.

"We welcome the ippr report which provides yet more evidence that millions of adults have difficulty managing their finances and that financial education in schools would improve the situation," chief executive Gavin Shreeve said.

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