Helping Your Parents Manage Financial Tasks

How can you make things easier on them later in life?

Worldwide, the number of people aged 60 and older is growing. By 2050, this demographic will be more than twice as large as it was in 2015.¹

Some of these seniors could face a financial test. Will they be able to look after their investments or financial matters at age 80 or 90 with the same level of scrutiny they exercised earlier in life?

Your parents may be facing such a challenge. If you sense that they are not quite up to it, then a conversation about financial issues could be in order.

If you need to have this kind of talk with your parents, it is best to proceed gently, while acknowledging some potential risks that may heighten if the status quo persists.

Start by talking about your own financial matters or investments. Ask your parents for their thoughts on this-or-that topic – an upcoming car purchase, a type of insurance coverage or investment, or their approach to saving or investing when they were your age. Start this conversation while you do something else together, something relaxed or pleasurable. A one-on-one conversation is best, with an informal tone. A formal discussion involving multiple family members might come across like some kind of financial intervention and may not be appreciated.   

Alternately, if you have made or updated a will or created a power of attorney, you can talk about your decision to do so and ask your parent if they have either of these items. That could lead to a conversation about family wealth or eldercare.

Helpful and gentle suggestions can follow. If your parents are neglecting to open account statements, you can offer help monitor their accounts by asking to register with the bank or investment custodian, so that you may receive copies of these documents. If you sense bills are past due, you can suggest setting up automated payments, referencing how useful they have been in your own financial life.

There can be resistance to such suggestions, of course. One possible way to counter that resistance is by expressing how much you care about their financial well-being, their wishes, and their quality of life. How would they feel, for example, if a financial error or oversight they made resulted in more income tax or a decline in the value of their accounts?

By treating your parent with love and respect and communicating openly, you can let them know that you are ready to provide the help needed during this time of life.

Todd A. Gaswick may be reached at (402) 672-3781 or [email protected].