Senior Abuse Prevention Website Launched for Advisers, Public

The New York Academy of Medicine, Global Coalition on Aging, AARP New York, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have set up a website providing financial advisers and the public with resources and education on why seniors are often exploited by financial scams and ways to fight such abuse, reports Financial Adviser . "There is a complex, multidirectional relationship between financial, physical, and mental health," says Dr. Judith A. Salerno with the New York Academy of Medicine. Global Coalition on Aging CEO Michael W. Hodin notes extended lifetime "brings about new challenges and opportunities that government, non-profits, and businesses alike must address together to ensure that today's seniors — as well as tomorrow's — can live their most productive, fulfilling, and happiest lives possible. Financial wellness is a critical component toward achieving this goal, and it can only be realized by shattering outdated assumptions about retirement and adopting new models for working and saving aligned to the realities of healthy and active aging." The coalition says innovative financial planning tools are required to promote lifelong financial wellness. "Discussions at a recent Financial Wellness symposium underscored how the financial industry plays a leadership role in protecting seniors' net worth, self-worth, and lives," says BeyondBrooke.org founder Philip C. Marshall. He stresses that financial advisers should spearhead the fight against senior financial abuse because they can spot the signs early.