One out of five Americans over the age of 65 has been the victim of a financial scam, according to a survey by a nonprofit organisation.
More than 7.3 million senior citizens have been taken advantage of financially through inappropriate investments, high fees or fraud, said the survey, which was released by the Washington-based Investor Protection Trust.
"We now know that a shockingly large number of older Americans are already victims of financial swindles and millions more are in danger of being exploited in such a fashion," Don Blandin, chief executive officer and president of Investor Protection Trust, which promotes investor education, said in a statement.
Forty per cent of children who have parents age 65 and older said they are "very" or "somewhat" worried that their parents have already become or will become less able to handle their personal finances over time.
Most American households at or near retirement "are consumed by fear", said Anthony Webb, associate director of research at Boston College's Center for Retirement Research. The average 401(k) account balance as of March 31 was $66,900, according to Boston-based Fidelity Investments, which has 11 million participants. The average monthly Social Security benefit as of April was $1,067.
Almost 40 per cent of survey respondents age 65 and over said they've received phone calls or mailers asking for money compared with 19 per cent of adult children who said they believe their parents are being pitched what the survey called schemes.
About 45 per cent of respondents age 65 and over got at least two out of four questions wrong about basic investment knowledge — they said that an investment registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state securities regulators means it's been reviewed to make sure it's safe and that a very high rate of return is only okay as long as the investment is guaranteed or bonded.
Campaign
"It is imperative that a serious national campaign be launched to end rampant elder financial exploitation and to protect and help vulnerable older victims," Kathleen Quinn, executive director of the National Adult Protective Services Association, a national non-profit, based in Springfield, Illinois, said in a statement.
The survey was conducted in May among a sample of 2,022 adults age 18 and over by Infogroup Inc., a provider of market research based in Omaha, Nebraska.
