Protect Seniors from Poor Financial Capacity

The average American adult is best able to make financial decisions when about age 53. That’s from studies at Harvard University, New York University, and the U.S. Federal Reserve System. Putting this finding together with the fact that American adults ages 65 and over hold about 35% of the nation’s wealth, there is clearly a need for ethical marketers to protect seniors from unwise monetary transactions. Advancing age often is accompanied by drops in hearing, vision, memory, and reasoning skills.
     A senior’s financial capacity consists of the ability to manage finances in ways that meet the senior’s needs and are compatible with the senior’s values. Indicators of deteriorating financial capacity include:

• Declines in payment management skills. Difficulty issuing payments or keeping records while carrying out everyday transactions. 
• Arithmetic mistakes. Errors making or receiving change to pay for items at the store or when computing an appropriate tip in a restaurant. 
• Memory lapses. Failing to pay bills or paying the same one several times. 
• Disorganization. Losing track of financial and other documents. 
• Impaired judgment. Abiding interest in get-rich-quick schemes or unfounded anxiety about the nature and extent of one’s personal wealth. 
• Conceptual confusion. Difficulty understanding basic financial terms and concepts such as mortgage, will, or annuity. 

     If you suspect that your senior citizen client needs protection, you could refer them for evaluation to a mental health professional or attorney conversant with validated guidelines for assessing financial capacity.
     You might talk with those who observe the senior’s daily financial dealings. If the senior places trust in family or friends, those individuals are in a position to accompany the senior to appointments and help pull back your client from foolish decisions. Further, talking with family and friends allows you to spot any evidence that those trusted individuals are financially exploiting the senior.
     Referral to a mental health professional also can be useful to resolve the likely sadness and suspiciousness when a senior's financial decision making is trimmed. And whether or not you identify deficits in financial capacity, present information with particular patience and in multiple modalities when serving senior citizen clients. Say the information, have it in writing for the senior to read, encourage questions about it, and ask the senior to explain reasons for the decisions they’re making.

For your success: Retailer’s Edge: Boost Profits Using Shopper Psychology

Click below for more: 
Protect Customers From Dangerous Decisions
Table Complexity for Elderly Shoppers
Sell Seniors on Future Plans