Page 40 - Jo Dee C Jacob Girl Scouts CEO

A guide for family, friends and loved ones

in preparing for the effects of the growing

elder population …a Public Service from

“Those Who Care”

The Golden Years

The idea of living out your life
enjoying the “Golden Years”
while fishing, golfing, traveling,
etc., has faded from possibil-
ity in most boomers’ minds.
Instead, we wonder about how
we can pay for health insur-
ance, will our retirement money
last until we die, how long will
we have to work, will social
security be around to help with
income, will I be a burden to my
children, will Medicare still be in
existence, will I need to move
out of my house into an as-
sisted living arrangement, etc.,
etc., and even more etc.

40 People are now living longer
through the development of
new medications and medical
procedures forcing us to face
issues that many of our parents
and grandparents did not have
to face. We are now up against
different environmental fac-
tors that were previously not a
concern, i.e., global warming.
Health issues such as heart to someone they not only don’t know, but also who present no hard
disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, dementia, and nutrition are evidence of the quality of their company or their products/services.
now more under control than ever before; allowing elders to focus
on other issues that are more out of their control. Issues, like finan- Fraud and identity theft (I’ve lived through identity theft three times
cial abuse, have now become more prevalent as we age. With an – no fun ride there) are here to stay and as such, we must protect
estimated 5 million elder financial abuse cases each year, and with ourselves from this form of abuse.
only 1 in 25 actually being reported, it is no wonder that financial
abuse is a major concern in their lives. Below, are a few contacts to know if you feel you or an elder
close to you thinks you/they may have been a victim of iden-
Living through decades of change, struggling to get through life’s tity theft or financial abuse:
hardships, and needing to face our own mortality has often forced
elders to be skeptical about life. In reality, today’s elders, just as in •Contact all creditors and let them know of the situation.
the past, want life to be positive, people to be trustworthy, and ev- •Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-IDTHEFT.
erything to “work out.” Yet, with the many “other” non-health related •Call the three credit bureaus (fraud division).
issues mentioned above, older folks have become susceptible to -Equifax, 1-800-525-6285.
the various opportunities that scammers come up with that sound -Experian, 1-888-397-3742.
good and thus feed into the somewhat “Pollyannaish” mentality -TransUnion, 1-800-680-7289.
and can spell financial ruin for far too many elders. •Alert all your banks.
•Contact your local police.
As we age, we often seem to forget to be on our guard for the •Contact your attorney.
scam artist who can so readily come up with a new version of a
well-used scam. The “it’s-to-good-to-be-true” scenario seems to As always, being proactive is the best way to safeguard against
hold course more often than not, and even when told to have the financial abuse, and any other issues that may be lurking in the
“buyer beware” attitude, these slick scammers very often find their darkness to run havoc with one’s life.
prey willing and ready to give up all they worked so hard to obtain