Currently there are 10 million people over 65 in this country which is 1 in 6 of the population. In 20 years time, this is expected to have risen to 15 million or 1 in 4 of the population. Of the 10 million, around 3 million are over 80 and this is expected to double in 20 years. Chuck into this mix the fact of the growing trend towards making people fund most of their own care while they have the money to do so, and a huge need for financial advice for the elderly emerges.
There are issues though which need to be addressed and urgently. The elderly tend to be more vulnerable generally and to have less of an understanding of finance than those who are younger and still at work. Two things arise from this, the need to protect them from unscrupulous advice and the need to provide them with specialist advice. Advising care homes, councils and bodies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau to point old people only to practises with Chartered status would be a big step in the right direction. Advisers should also look at gaining a ‘Later Life Adviser Accreditation’.
The above is the lead article in our monthly News Notes. Please click here for information regarding these notes.