Here’s an eye opening statistic for you – Prior to the creation of the Social Security System in the 1930’s, approximately 75% of senior citizens in America were living in poverty. This figure has been dramatically reduced today to just below 10%, thanks to employee pensions, Social Security and also retirement savings accounts.
But still, here in America today, many senior citizens with income levels just above the poverty level continue to have financial struggles well into their retirement.
Just as alarming are the results of a study that was done by Brandeis University. This revealed that 75% of senior citizen households in America are in a precarious position economically.
3 Financial Scams Against the Elderly To Be Aware Of
Criminal financial scams against the elderly continue to be prevalent despite repeated warnings by many agencies. As a rule, scammers have no morals, and are willing to take whatever they can from the elderly. Most seniors are too trusting and are willing to help those in need and scammers count on that and govern their scams accordingly.
There are three (3) common financial scams to avoid that we will discuss here that continue to be perpetrated against senior adults. Many others exist, but these three are the most prevalent. They are:
If you were to ask the question, what is a reverse mortgage, to the average citizen, you would hear a number of different answers, many of them incorrect. The reverse mortgage program was initially designed to assist senior citizens who primarily were “house rich and cash poor”.
This would be done by providing them funds to meet their living expenses and remain in their homes. They would be able to borrow against the equity in the home and not have to repay it until they either sold the home, moved away, or died.
Practically from the very beginning, the program was rife with problems due primarily from confusion with the borrowers because no one took the time to answer the question, what is a reverse mortgage? View full post…
During the past few years, senior adults have been the primary target of various financial scams, to such extent, that it’s been suggested that this is the major crime of the 21st century. For some reason, con men and women have the mistaken idea that seniors are all wealthy, and have large sums of money at their disposal.
Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. With the economy in terrible condition, plus the recessions that we have suffered, many seniors have seen their nest egg dwindle to practically nothing. As a matter of fact, many have had to take on part time jobs just to make ends meet. So when some con is perpetrated on a senior adult, it can be a truly devastating crime.
These individuals who practice these scams don’t seek out only wealthy individuals. Their lack of morals causes them to approach any senior citizen and to find a way to take their money. Many times, these types of crimes go unreported because the victim is too ashamed to tell their family about it.
In these current times, many low income senior adults are targeted as well. To make this crime even worse than it actually is, it’s not always a total stranger who commits this crime. Statistics have revealed that over 90% of scams committed against the elderly, are perpetrated by their adult children, and other family members. What a disgusting, repulsive act to commit against a loved one.
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