Financial Elder Abuse Costs Nearly $3 Billion a Year

The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse: Crimes of Occasion, Desperation, and Predation Against America’s Elders further illuminates the widening problem of elder financial abuse.

The full report may be reviewed here:

http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/2011/mmi-elder-financial-abuse.pdf

See also: http://www.MatureMarketInstitute.com

It can also be ordered by writing to:

MetLife Mature Market Institute
57 Greens Farms Road
Westport, CT 06880

Financial abuse can take many forms. The National Council on Aging says to watch for these signs of financial abuse:

• The elderly person’s living conditions are well below his or her financial resources;

• Unusual or inappropriate bank account activity is occurring;

• Frequent checks for “cash” are written to a caregiver, financial professional or other;

• Bills go unpaid or are overdue, when someone is supposed to be paying them;

• The elderly person transfers title of his or her home, or other assets,
without reason;

• Large, frequent gifts are made to a caregiver, or other;

• The elderly person is reluctant to talk about once-routine topics;

• Personal belongings are missing;

• Someone attempts to isolate the elderly person from others;

• Changes are made in a will, banking arrangement or professional relationship;

• The elderly person takes out large, unexplained loans;

• A live-in caregiver refuses to leave or is evasive about financial arrangements.

Frequently, the victim will be ashamed. If a family member raises a financial issue, the elderly person may awkwardly try to change the subject. Often, when financial abuse has occurred, it may be too late to report a crime; the perpetrator has absconded. If the abuser is a family member, the elder will often refuse to sign a complaint.

Financial Elder Abuse Costs Nearly $3 Billion a Year