Many baby boomers, born between 1945 1954 are now retiring. Although the financial advisor community, banks and government have talked about building sufficient retirement savings to cover them during retirement, many do not have sufficient funds  to take them through retirement. On top of that there seems to be in increasing level of baby boomers elder abuse that is taking place. As more and more baby boomers move into their late retirement years this is becoming an increasing problem. The chart summarizes the various kinds of elder abuse that takes place. Often the most visible or those of physical abuse. But there are five other types of abuse, including financial, verbal, emotional, neglect and even abandonment. How can people be so cruel and treat their elderly family members this way? How can care workers treat people this way? It can be a terrible thing to experience this kind of abuse. Having lots of money does not always protect you either.
Elder abuse abuse in our Community
Unfortunately in our society everything is driven by sex and money. If it is not sexual abuse, it is some form of abuse that is triggered by the greed of grabbing their money. Sometimes it is the fact that they don’t have enough money to pay for the services that seniors need. We cannot emphasize enough that baby boomers planning to retire  need to make sure that they have sufficient funds to pay for top quality care during their later years.
In addition family members need to take steps to protect their elder parents or relatives. Always have two members of the family looking after a senior, and two members of the family looking after the financial affairs. If you suspect any kind of elder abuse, whether it’s emotional, financial or other takes immediate steps to rectify the situation.
There are the obvious criminal cases that can be dealt with when someone is exposed to physical abuse and the perpetrator is caught and prosecuted. But there many more subtle situations that are never deal with that trouble many seniors today. Elder abuse is rampant and in many cases it is our own family members that are the guilty ones.
Examples of baby boomers elder abuse
What about the son or daughter who slowly drains their parents bank accounts leaving them destitute and abandoned? What about care givers who are rough in their treatment? They never leave bruises, but you know that there is something going on. Then there are situations where they get the parents to pay for everything. The kids could even be well off.
Abandonment is one of the worst. Not everyone wants to look after someone who is old and frail. They may not have the patience and the personality. The senior ends up living by themselves and living as best they can until they cannot look after themselves any longer. They depend on the good will of neighbors who take pity. Where is the family in this situation?
Knowing that this is going on will at least help seniors takes steps to prepare for this situation. Plan now how your frail years will be to ensure that they are as good as they can be. We are going to write a series of posts on this subject so stay tuned.