We’ve all seen the data on the percentage of assets held by older Canadians.  Research firm Investor Economics points out that at the end of 2009, households headed by someone over 75  held financial assets (ex real estate) of $728 billion, almost 30% of the total for Canada. Average assets were over $400,000, more than twice the level for households under 75.

Few advisors can afford to ignore retirees. And even if you’re not working with seniors, almost certainly you’re dealing with them indirectly, as your clients are facing issues with their parents; one way to add value for these clients is to be the conduit to well researched information on the specific challenges their parents are contending with.

The need to build your knowledge

If you want to offer effective advice, you  need a good understanding of the special issues that seniors  face. For many advisors, spending half an hour a week to upgrade your knowledge about seniors’  issues is an essential investment to better serve clients.

A few examples of resources you could tap into:

The Mayo Clinic on tips for long distance caregivers. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caregiving/MY01266

A New York Times article earlier this week, pointing to research indicating that two-thirds of people over 70 suffer from hearing loss.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/health/research/08aging.html?src=recg

And a link to another recent NYTimes article on research into how long people typically grieve after the loss of a long-time spouse, indicating that acute grief normally ends within six months. (This might be especially helpful for clients where one  parent is struggling with the loss of the other.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/opinion/15Konigsberg.html?_r=2&src=me&ref=general

Carolyn Rosenblatt’s Forbes columns yield great insights, based on her 10 years as a geriatric nurse and 30 years practicing law.                                                                                                          http://blogs.forbes.com/carolynrosenblatt/2010/09/17/are-aging-parents-truthful-with-the-doctor/

And today’s email features  an interview with award winning Harvard professor David Laibson pointing to the implications of cognitive decline among seniors.

Other articles

Another great resource are links to articles on the website of the National Association of  Professional Geratric Care Givers, at   www.caremanager.org .

Below are some of the more than 20 articles they currently link to.

• Managing Your Parents' Money Kiplinger
• When Dementia Drains the Pocketbook The New York Times
• Retirement Planning And Its Challenges For Women Forbes
• 'How To Care for Aging Parents'  ABC News
• Stories From Main Street: Upper Saddle River, NJ CBS New York
• Money Matters: Financial Issues For Long-Distance Caregivers The Wall Street Journal
• Conversation before the crisis USA Today
• When Assisted Living Bill Balloons NY Times
• Finding Good Solutions Washingtonian
• Financial Scams on Seniors Wall Street Journal
• Aging Parents: Truthful with Doctor? Forbes