Senior Financial Planning

A compendium of financial advisers and journalists weigh in on how retirees and pre-retirees can preserve their portfolios and salvage their retirements in a volatile economy.

As they near the end of their working days, middle-income boomers are discovering that they haven't saved enough. They also may be underestimating how much money they will need to retire.

Learn about Social Security Benefits and Eligibility. Find out if you or your parents are eligible for social security benefits and how much you should get.

A person with Alzheimer's disease is legally responsible for paying their credit card debt or other debt unless you can prove that they were not competent at the time they spent the money.

If your elderly father forgets pick up the mail, a daily money manager might be able to help.

Yes, you can rent the home while your parents are in a nursing home and on Medicaid.

When an aging loved one is making excessive and unnecessary purchases—especially ones they cannot afford—it’s time for a family caregiver to step in.

For some homeowners, a reverse mortgage may be the best way to provide retirement income or pay off debts. However, seniors have other options that may make more sense than a reverse mortgage, depending on their goals and financial situation.

Finding a financial advisor for seniors can be tricky. Knowing what qualities, experience, education and certifications to look for will help you choose the right professional to assist you and your loved one in planning for the future.

For many caregivers, the resistance you get and the feeling that you are invading your relative’s privacy may leave you less than completely aware of your elder’s finances. But, if you wait until the elder becomes incapacitated to broach the subject of paperwork, locating important documents can be a much more difficult process.

Your primary responsibility is to make sure your relative’s needs are being met. This includes physical needs, health needs, safety and security, and emotional needs, any of which may involve spending money.

If the time, energy, and medical necessities of care make doing it yourself difficult or impossible, you will need to get help -- and help in this area can be expensive.

Many common retirement myths are completely false and end up harming your financial situation. With proper planning, you can help your parents continue to create wealth until their retirement and beyond. Avoiding overly conservative financial decisions can truly pay off.

Navigating Medicaid eligibility for married couples is tough. When only one spouse needs long-term care, be sure to familiarize yourself with spousal impoverishment provisions and your state’s rules for counting income.

Surviving family members often assume that a loved one’s last Social Security payment after death becomes part of their estate or can be spent on things like funeral expenses. The truth is that it usually must be returned to the SSA.

Most seniors start drawing Social Security as soon as they’re eligible, not knowing that waiting could be beneficial for them and their spouse. If you're healthy and expect a long, fulfilling retirement, you should consider waiting to claim your benefits.

It is important for seniors and their caregivers to stay on top of changes in health and medical coverage. A bit of foresight can go a long way for a busy caregiver on a budget.

It is difficult enough to try to manage a loved one's finances in addition to your own, but how do you get access to the corresponding online accounts that they have set up? Online banking and other accounts pose unique problems for a dementia caregiver.

Health care costs will take up a considerable portion of retirement savings, so it is vital to put away adequate funds and choose insurance plans are the best possible fit. Advance planning is the best way to ensure a happy and healthy retirement.

Charlie's dementia-fueled obsession with ordering items from magazines has proven challenging to deal with.