I guess, as you say Joan, I'm officially here as Minister for Financial Services and my responsibility for financial literacy. But I could also just as easily be here as Minister for Human Services with my responsibility for Centrelink. Sometimes people comment on the breadth of my portfolio and ask what the two have in common. Well, here you have an example.
I'm delighted to be here to launch this research which builds on the strength of our financial sector with a social conscience. And although we're in Melbourne, I would equally be here as the Member for Prospect, a western Sydney electorate, as somebody who sees a need for this sort of product every day. Every time that I sit down in my electorate office and interview constituents about their problems, I'm reminded at least once of the need for this sort of a product. So I'm delighted, in whatever capacity I'm here, to launch this research.
This is a product which has it all. This is a product which has been built in collaboration between the private and non-Government sectors, and Federal Government assistance. And it's not a small undertaking. There are thousands of people who benefit from this initiative, the Saver Plus initiative. It's an important financial literacy tool. To paraphrase the old parable, this is about teaching people how to fish rather than giving them a fish.
The great benefits from this product, in my view, are not the money that people have built up but behavioural changes and the education that's come with it. It teaches people about what my old Economics Professor used to call the miracle of compound interest. Now, compound interest can work for you or you can let it work against you, and your life's a whole lot easier if you let it work for you. And this is about spreading that message, that financial literacy can be used to improve your life rather than letting your financial circumstances get on top of you.
It's an important measure in terms of intergenerational poverty. One of the things we don't talk enough in this country about is intergenerational poverty and the importance of good role models. The importance of children seeing their parents work and their parents save. And we do have, in some instances, in some places, a vicious cycle of children who grow up with no other role models than those who are doing it the wrong way. But this is an initiative which helps us break that cycle, not only seeing their family working hard but also seeing their family making a bit of progress and teaching them about the benefits of saving and the benefits of looking after your money.
And perhaps most importantly of all, there's an educational component. You know, there probably is a social problem in the world that education can't fix but I've yet to find it. And what I particularly like about this program is that it encourages people to put money aside for their own education or the education of their children.
So I just simply want to congratulate ANZ, the Brotherhood, the other non-government organisations who were involved in this program and have been involved in this program. I'm delighted, as has been mentioned, that we have been able to provide $13.5 million to expand the program to an additional 7,500 people across the country. And I hope this research provides a spur to other businesses to be involved in similar programs. And I hope it provides a spur for this program to continue and to serve many more thousands of people across coming years. So I simply want to say thank you, and well done.