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).

November is National Family Caregivers Month

Over 65 million people in America care for a chronically ill, disabled, or aged family member or friend.  On average they spend 20 hours per week caring for their loved one.  President Obama has proclaimed November 2011 as National Family Caregivers Month. You can read this proclamation here.  The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) is a non profit organization, which was founded in 1993. Its mission is "to empower family caregivers to act on behalf of themselves and their loved ones, and to remove barriers to health and well being." The NFCA coordinates National Family Caregivers Month and the theme for this year is "Identifying Family Caregivers". The NFCA offered some recommendations for celebrating National Family Caregivers Month, including:

• Offer a few hours of respite time to allow a caregiver to rest.
• Send a card of appreciation or a bouquet of flowers to brighten up a family caregiver’s day.
• Help a family caregiver decorate their home for the holidays or offer to address envelopes for their holiday cards.
• Help a family caregiver find information and resources on the internet or to locate a local support group.

 Remember, you can contact the Area Agency on Aging's Senior Helpline (1-800-963-5337) to find local resources for respite care. This helpline is available for residents of Florida.

Veterans Day Information

The U.S. Census Bureau has published the following Veterans Day Facts:

•  There were 21.8 million veterans in 2010.
•  There were 1.6 million female veterans.
• 9 million veterans are age 65+
• $35,367 is the annual median income of veterans
• 3.4 million veterans have a service-connected disability rating.

You can access more U. S. Census Veterans Facts here.  Here are Florida veterans statistics from the November Elder Update of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs:

• More than 1.6 million veterans live in Florida
• The State of Florida has the largest number of World War II veterans.
• Approximately 12% of all Floridians age 18+ are veterans.

The State of Florida may be the most veteran friendly state! Florida provides additional benefits to veterans, which other states do not provide. A summary of these benefits can be found on page 3 of the November Elder Update. For more information, you can contact the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs.

President Obama has published a 2011 veterans day proclamation, which can be accessed here.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs created this video commemorating Veterans Day:

Senior Social at New River Library

Want to meet new people and have fun? We will have card games, board games, Wii bowling, and refreshments for Seniors (age 50+). This program is sponsored by the New River Friends of the Library.

Wed Nov 9th at 2:00pm

at New River Library

34043 State Road 54

Zephyrhills, FL

813-788-6375

Tampa Bay Senior Expo

The St. Petersburg Times and the Senior Living Guide will be sponsoring the Tampa Bay Senior Expo on Thursday, November 3rd. This free expo for ages 50+ will provide:

• free health screenings
• travel news
• educational seminars
• recreational opportunities
• retirement choices

Thursday, Nov 3rd from 10:00am - 3:00pm

Gulf View Square Mall

9409 US Hwy 19 #215

Port Richey, FL