Research on consumer financial vulnerability (CFV) was especially encouraged in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, becoming a phenomenon of global interest to academics and policy makers. This paper reviews the existing academic literature on CFV with the aim of mapping out four research fields (i.e., the concept, the measures, the methods, and the drivers of this phenomenon) and providing a roadmap for a future research agenda for this field. To this end, we review the last two decades of academic research on households’ financial vulnerability, thereby presenting a hybrid literature review. Evidence from a comprehensive analysis of 98 academic papers suggests that this is still an emerging and highly fragmented field and, therefore, a comprehensive future research agenda is offered, including concrete suggestions for research designs and measurements. The proposal of a homogeneous definition of financial vulnerability, the consideration of measures that include subjective aspects of the phenomenon, the use of qualitative methods, and the development of more detailed theoretical and empirical research on the drivers of CFV, are among the authors’ recommendations for future research.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the driving forces of both the decision to participate in individual pension plans and the amount of money allocated to such plans. Moreover, this paper evaluates the potential role that income plays, which has not previously been considered in depth in the financial literature. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a sample of the Spanish population over the period 2008–2015, this paper estimates probit and tobit models, using 165,791 observations. The driving forces of private retirement savings comprise demographic, financial and socio-economic characteristics. Findings: This paper confirms the impact of socio-demographic and economic variables on participation and monetary contributions to pension plans. It also confirms that income plays a non-negligible role. Moreover, empirical evidence reveals that the effect of gender is related to the income stratum to which the individual belongs. Originality/value: Retirement planning plays a key role in retirees’ future income and several countries have emphasised the importance of private individual savings to supplement the minimum provided by public pension schemes. The previous literature has concluded that those who plan their retirement end their working lives with three times the wealth of non-planners. Consequently, analysis of whether people are saving enough for their retirement can contribute to avoiding future wealth inequalities among retirees. Spain is one of the countries with the greatest inequality in income distribution, so this issue is of even greater interest.