New book and website help adults choose a financial advocate to protect their money as they age

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, UNITED STATES, February 24, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Three national aging experts, in conjunction with the University of Minnesota, have released the Thinking Ahead Roadmap: A Guide to Keeping Your Money Safe as You Age. It’s a comprehensive toolkit funded by AARP that guides seniors to select a financial advocate -- someone they can trust to help manage their money if financial decisions become too difficult in the future.

“Problems with financial decision-making can appear many years before a dementia diagnosis. Even cognitively healthy older adults may show declines in their financial decision-making abilities,” said co-author Marti DeLiema, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work.

Studies show that about one out of five people aged 75 to 79 might have diminished financial decision-making abilities due to mild cognitive impairment or dementia; that risk rises to about one out of two for people in their 80s. Many of these people are still confident in their ability to manage their finances, putting them at risk of significant losses due to mistakes, exploitation, or fraud. Average losses range from $20,000 to $50,000, depending on the group studied.

“We heard many stories about people who didn’t plan ahead, resulting in financial losses and stress for them and their families. We created this resource to encourage people to decide who they trust to manage their money if they need help and to help them make an action plan. The Roadmap will help prevent financial mistakes as well as fraud and financial abuse,” added co-author Naomi Karp, an elder law attorney and independent researcher.

The Thinking Ahead Roadmap is a clear, educational guide that centers around six key steps to help aging adults prepare for the future. These include how to choose a trusted financial advocate and organize financial information, how to have conversations about planning, and how to think about shifting money management to an advocate when the time is right.

The design of the Thinking Ahead Roadmap was guided by extensive interviews with financial, legal and healthcare professionals. The interactive website includes informative and engaging video interviews with people who have prepared an advance financial care plan. It also features a financial inventory that people can download and fill out with their own information to make the job easier for their financial advocate.

The first step in the Thinking Ahead Roadmap is choosing a trusted financial advocate. “Ideally this is an individual who will put the older person’s needs first and carry out their financial wishes. It’s similar to picking a healthcare decision maker, but in this case, this should be someone who will make sound financial choices and act with honesty and integrity,” said DeLiema.

According to the 2020 Understanding America Survey, fewer than four in 10 of Americans aged 60+ have a durable power of attorney (POA), a document that legally names someone to manage their money if they could no longer handle their financial matters. “Without this important document, trusted caregivers won’t be able to access the older person’s funds to pay for basic needs like food, prescriptions and housing,” said Karp.

Discussing money and health can be hard. The Thinking Ahead Roadmap offers tips for starting an open conversation about finances. It also offers guidance on how to overcome common issues like resistance from adult children who don’t want to acknowledge that their parents are getting older or who want to put off these conversations.

The final step offers suggestions on how to transition financial decision-making responsibilities to the advocate. “Having a discussion about the warning signs that it’s time to get more help paves the way for a smoother, less confrontational transition in money management,” said co-author Steve Vernon, president of the retirement education and research firm Rest-of-Life Communications.

“Discussing these signs in advance, around retirement age, gives older adults more control over how the process unfolds,” Vernon adds. “The Thinking Ahead Roadmap helps put older adults in charge of the plan to protect their money, before it’s too late to avoid significant financial losses. Too often adult children need to jump in after losses have occurred, and they don’t have a detailed understanding of their parents’ finances or know their wishes for how to manage their finances.”

In addition to interviewing experts, the research team gathered data from more than 150 diverse older adults (age 60+) to understand where the difficulties are in the planning process and how to overcome them. According to the research participants, the most compelling reason to prepare a financial care plan is the peace of mind knowing their finances will be in good hands. As one participant noted, “Extra effort now can provide peace of mind later.” The study participants also stated the importance of planning ahead to reduce tension among family members, ease the burden on future decision-makers, and reduce the risk of scams and financial abuse.

The Thinking Ahead Roadmap website and book was supported by funding from AARP. The research that informed the Roadmap was supported by funding from AARP and the Society of Actuaries. The Thinking Ahead Roadmap can be viewed and downloaded for free at ThinkingAheadRoadmap.org. A paperback book can be purchased at cost here.

Ed Emerman
Eagle Public Relations
+1 609-240-2766
eemerman@eaglepr.com

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