DECISION MAKING AND FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION

This is the first of three symposia about older adults and financial exploitation organized by the GSA Lifelong Financial Health Workgroup. Symposium 1 is focussed on what is known about decision-making and financial exploitation. Although it is well established that cognitive abilities such as fluid intelligence declines markedly with age, until recently little was known about the extent to which our abilities to manage complex financial tasks change with age. The first paper by Lichtenberg will set the context and consider decisional abilities and current measures of financial capacity. In paper 2 Boyle will delve more deeply into the implications of findings from research on cognition, dementia and decision-making for the potential for financial exploitation. Dr Marson will consider brain ageing and the implications for financial services in Paper 3. Paper 4 by Price is concerned with household money over the life course and how family dynamics have the potential for financial exploitation. Finally, in Paper 5 Gilhooly explores the potential of the bystander intervention model to help us understand the decision-making that leads to a failure to intervene when financial exploitation is suspected.