How Cognitive Impairment Affects Senior Financial Management - Silverbills

How Cognitive Impairment Affects Senior Financial Management

Worried elderly woman speaking on the phone

Money management is an essential skill for individuals to maintain a good quality of life and to live independently. When an elderly individual suffers from cognitive impairment, the ability to manage money may become challenging and overwhelming.

So in this blog post, we are going to share some facts about cognitive impairment and how it can affect senior financial management.

Definition Of Cognitive Impairment

Clinically speaking, cognitive impairment is defined as the loss of rational ability to think effectively. And it may range from mild to permanent depending on the cause.

Mild cognitive impairment can occur in young adults after experiencing drunkenness, drug abuse, sepsis, and severe head injuries. This will cause a loss of cognitive functions temporarily but will generally not impair the ability to perform daily activities.

On the other hand, permanent cognitive impairment in older adults may be caused by many factors including aging, illness, psychological disorders, and even medication side effects. And as a result, a senior may lose the ability to comprehend the relative importance of various tasks and the need to prioritize.   Financial management may be impacted and this may eventually affect the capacity to live independently.

Why Is Financial Management Needed For Seniors With Declining Financial Skills?

When the financial capacity of an elder is declining, it is helpful to have a trusted family member to assist with financial decision making. This is recommended to avoid misuse of money and to ensure the senior will maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

But oftentimes, kids and relatives of the elderly avoid these issue as it may be uncomfortable for those close to the individual to address this sensitive topic.. So to address this problem, the family may choose to engage a professional company like SilverBills which can assist with bill paying.  This may also help avoid fraud, deception, theft, and other forms of misuse. SilverBills is professional company specializing in helping seniors manage their money properly especially if they are already suffering from any of these problems:

  • Struggling to pay bills
  • Having suspicions of lost or stolen money
  • Receiving frequent calls from financial institutions about late payments
  • Being a victim of scams, unscrupulous merchants and other forms of financial abuse

Choosing the correct solution is important and should occur when the senior is of sound mind and the decision is best made by the entire family in a collaborative way.

Final Word

Overall, advance financial planning is the best way to ensure proper senior financial management.  Please contact us. SilverBills would be happy to assist.

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