With the end of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, we turn our attention to National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Caregiver Month in November. Throughout the month, the New Age of Advice will feature blog posts with insights about Alzheimer’s designed to help advisors gain a better understanding of this devastating disease.
The topic inspired Transamerica and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab to host a four-panel roundtable discussion, Financial Planning in the Shadow of Dementia, which brought the financial services profession together in early October for a groundbreaking conversation.
“We brought the industry, not a company or two, but the industry together,” said MIT AgeLab director Dr. Joseph Coughlin. “What we’re kicking off here is a movement about managing longevity and addressing the new needs of Alzheimer’s and dementia as it faces families, individuals and society.”
During the symposium, which included representatives from Raymond James & Associates, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Legg Mason Global Asset Management, Transamerica and the MIT AgeLab released “The Advisor’s Guide to Financial Planning in the Shadow of Dementia,” a comprehensive how-to booklet advisors can use to help clients and families dealing with dementia.
“The guide that we put out was a beginning, not an end, to start that conversation and a platform for action,” Coughlin said. “This was not a strategic advantage or a competitive advantage for one company. This was about doing well by doing good.”
Transamerica has been committed to helping educate advisors about Alzheimer’s and other related dementias since the website went live in March. Its blog posts have covered a range of topics, including financial fraud, the announcement that Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen has Alzheimer’s and an academic study that claims dementia is nearly as lethal as heart disease and cancer.
Transamerica also produced a series of videos featuring Steve Starnes, a certified financial planner® who specializes in helping clients and families affected by dementia. Starnes, who works for Savant Capital in McLean, Va., gives insights about:
Important things advisors should do when helping clients with dementia
How to develop an effective relationship with the client’s caregiver
Another video series features Terry Berry, a 59-year-old former elder care nurse who was diagnosed with younger-onset dementia when she was 56. Berry and her daughter, April Keys, also talk about the financial complications associated with the disease.
Advisors can learn how overcoming the Alzheimer’s stigma is crucial in a post about actor Seth Rogen, who testified on the topic before Congress in February. They can also watch a video that demonstrates the power of music and how it can reawaken people in the advanced stages of dementia.
The New Age of Advice also tells the dementia story with infographics, including:
This conversation is one the financial services profession must continue long after Alzheimer’s Awareness Month ends. It’s certainly a discussion that will continue on the New Age of Advice.
After all, more than 5 million people are living with dementia, and unless a medical breakthrough occurs, the Alzheimer’s Association® says that number is expected to skyrocket to as many at 16 million by the middle of the century.
“I think we have started a movement and indeed kicked off the momentum to start to manage what it costs to provide care and to provide those families a little more support than they had yesterday,” Coughlin said following the October symposium. “And I think we did it not just because it was just one company or two or three, but we found leaders across the industry to say we will.”
Want to comment on this article? Don Mitchell is a Denver-based writer for Transamerica’s New Age of Advice. Email him at [email protected]
Transamerica Resources, Inc. is an Aegon company and is affiliated with various companies which include, but are not limited to, insurance companies and broker-dealers. Transamerica Resources, Inc. does not offer insurance products or securities. This material is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as insurance, securities, ERISA, tax, investment or legal advice. Although care has been taken in preparing this material and presenting it accurately, Transamerica Resources, Inc. disclaims any express or implied warranty as to the accuracy of any material contained herein and any liability with respect to it. Interested parties must consult and rely solely upon their own independent advisors regarding their particular situation and the concepts presented here.
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