Report on Financial Abuse of Older Americans

The Metlife Mature Market Institute has published a report called “The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse: Crimes of Occasion, Desperation, and Predation Against America’s Elders.” This study found that financial abuse of older Americans has increased 12% since 2008. The key findings of this study include:

• 51% of the reported fraud perpetrators were strangers
• 34% of the reported fraud perpetrators were family, friends, and neighbors of the victim
• 12% were businesses which exploited the elderly
• women were nearly twice as likely as men to be victims of elder financial abuse
• most victims were between the ages of 80- 89
• an estimated $2.9 billion dollars were lost by victims of financial abuse in 2010

The full study can be accessed here.

How can you avoid financial abuse and scams?  
The National Council on Aging has published an online handbook outlining how to avoid scams. This handbook is called "Savvy Saving Seniors: Steps to Avoiding Scams."  It lists the top ten scams targeting Seniors (on p. 10) and gives tips for avoiding scams (on p. 14).

New Report on American Grandparents

The MetLife Mature Market  Institute recently published a study about grandparents: "The MetLife Report on American Grandparents: New Insights for a New Generation of Grandparents".  The data for this study was gathered from the 2010 Census Bureau reports, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Surveys, and the Center for Disease Control.  

Highlights of this study include:

•  Approximately one in ten households are headed by a grandparent, who has at least one grandchild living with them.
• A majority of grandparents, (54%), are baby boomers, ages 45 to 64.
• There were an estimated 65 million grandparents in the United States in 2010 and it is estimated that this number will climb to 80 million in 2020.
• Grandparent spending on child-specific items (like infant formula and children's clothing) has increased 71% since 1999.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers

Almost 10 million people age 50 and above care for their aging parents in the United States.  The MetLife Mature Market Institute has published a report based on data from the the 2008 panel of the National Health and Retirement Study (HRS).  This report is called "The MetLife Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers: Double Jeopardy for Baby Boomers Caring for Their Parents".  Here are some highlights from this study:

• the percentage of adults providing financial assistance or personal care to an aging parent has tripled in the last 15 years.
• approximately a quarter of all adult children (mainly baby boomers) provide care for a parent.
• The overall cost in lost wages, pensions, and social security benefits for all of these caregivers is nearly 3 trillion dollars.
• the average female caregiver loses $324,044.
• male caregivers average a loss of $283,716.
• caregivers age 50 and above are more likely to have fair or poor health than people who are not caregivers.

The full report can be read here.

Housing Trends for the 55+ Market

 MetLife Mature Market Institute has published a report based on data from the most recent American Housing Survey conducted by the Census Bureau.  This report, "Housing Trends Update for the 55+ Market" describes "... where 55+ households live, characteristics of their homes and communities, and level of satisfaction with the homes and communities." In addition, the report includes information about households who moved and why they moved. Here are some key findings:

• The majority of 55+ households are not in age-restricted communities.
• The primary reasons for moving are for family or personal reasons.
• Most 55+ households are happy with the house that they live in, but the households in the age-restricted communities had the highest  measured happiness rating.
•  The choice to move to a home in an active adult community to be closer to work has increased from 2% in 2001 to 12% in 2009.
• About 54,000 housing starts in 55+ communities are projected in 2011.

You can access the full report here.

Plan Ahead for "Aging in Place"

The MetLife Mature Market Institute has published a report called "Aging in Place 2.0: Rethinking Solutions to the Home Care Challenge".  "Aging in Place" means using care services to stay in your own home as you age, rather than using institutional care. This report provides a model which "... promises to use integrated home design, tools, equipment, services, and technologies to house and care for more people less expensively, more efficiently, and with more dignity" (p.4).  Aspects of the model include:

• technology (devices and sensors to connect the older adult with the outside world) - such as emergency response systems and tele-health.
• community resources - social support such as Senior Centers and Adult Day Care Centers.
• transportation for older people who can no longer drive
• modifying the home so that it is safer and more senior-friendly.

The report then describes specific home modifications which can help people to "Age in Place".  It also gives a range of expected costs for these modifications.  It is a very  useful primer on how to prepare your home and how much it may cost.  Please click here for the full report.

MetLife has also published  a supplement to this report, called the "Aging in Place Workbook: Your Home as a Care Setting".  This workbook has worksheets to help individuals and/or their caregivers to plan every aspect of "aging in place".  This is an excellent planning tool and you can download it here.

Job Tips for Baby Boomers

The MetLife Mature Market Institute has published a study about the new realities of the job market for aging baby boomers, called "Buddy Can You Spare a Job?".  The data for this study was based on a survey of 1,242 adults aged 55 - 70 and in-depth qualitative interviews with job coaches and employment agencies. This and accompanying research suggests that many baby boomers have decided to continue working until age 70 or later, at least in part because of the recent recession. Older adults face many obstacles in finding work. This study lists several faulty assumptions older adults make when looking for a job, including:

• "I'll just do what I was doing before."
• "My experience speaks for itself."
• "I don't have time for this touchy-feely stuff about what work means to me."
• "I know I'll become a consultant!"
• "Of course I'm good with computers."

The study then suggests several important success strategies, including:

•  Reframe your experience to demonstrate future value.
• Nurture your network.
• Update your computer technology skills

For more information, the entire study can be found here.

Recent Grandparents Survey

The MetLife Mature Market Institute recently published a survey about grandparents. Highlights of this report include:

•  63% of grandparents provided financial support for their grandchildren in the last five years.
• Only 32% of grandparents gave their children financial advice (such as start saving early in life).
  
• 26% of grandparents provided money for their grandchildren's education.
• 25% reported that they increased their financial support of grandchildren due to the poor economy.
  
• 22% believed that providing this money had a negative effect on their own financial situation.

This survey polled 1,077 U. S. adults aged 45+.  More information about this survey can be found here.