Study: Elder Financial Abuse on the Rise

"IRI's own research shows that older boomers are especially in need of retirement advice, with one-half indicating that they will not have enough money on which to live comfortably throughout retirement, and more than two-thirds believing that they will not have enough money to pay for long-term care expenses," Weatherford said in a prepared statement. "Unfortunately, these vulnerabilities and concerns can create situations where older Americans can easily be preyed upon by those seeking to capitalize on the situation for their own, unethical gain."

Weatherford also said that working with older clients presents unique challenges for advisors and that women are twice as likely to be victims of elder financial abuse. "And there lies the real opportunity for our industryfor us to help identify some of the so-called 'red flags,' as a trusted financial planner," she said.

The IPT has held 430 continuing medical education courses to train nearly 3,000 doctors and other medical professionals on ways to spot potential elder financial abuse.

Dr. Robert Roush, director of the Texas Consortium Geriatric Education Center, Huffington Center on Aging, at the Baylor College of Medicine, said that it's "a simple medical fact of life" that a person's cognitive abilities become impaired later in life, making them highly vulnerable to being financially exploited. Therefore, it's important to enlist the aid of health-care professionals in the campaign to stop elder financial abuse. "State securities agencies deserve credit for being able to think outside of the box and take an important new tack in reducing the scourge of elder investment scams. Working together, clinicians and investor educators can make a difference," said Roush in a release announcing the study's findings.

Other findings from the IPT poll include:

• Nearly three out of four respondents (58%) said they deal with elderly victims of investment fraud/financial exploitation "quite often" or "somewhat often." Fewer than one in 10 (7%) said they never deal with such victims.
• Nearly all96%say the problem of elderly investment fraud/financial exploitation in the U.S. is "very serious" (70%) or "somewhat serious" (26%).
• The top three reasons why elderly investment frauds go unreported are: "shame on the part of victims" (86%); "the ability of con artists to string victims along until it is too late" (80%); and "failure of adult children to spot the problem and intervene" (70%). 

See also:

• Aging in America: Scammers vs. Seniors
• Watch for These Elder Abuse Red Flags
• Elder Abuse Statistics