As part of the Age Action / Ulster Bank Financial Elder Abuse Project 2015, Dr Attracta Lafferty from the National Centre for the Protection of Older People, UCD, gave this presentation on Research in Elder Financial Abuse at a stakeholder forum in June 2015.

1. Research in Elder Financial Abuse
Presenter: Dr Attracta Lafferty
National Centre for the Protection of Older People, UCD
Stakeholder Forum on Elder Financial Abuse
11th
June 2015

2. Definition & Forms of Elder Abuse
Elder Abuse is defined as:
‘A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action
occurring within any relationship where there is an
expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an
older person or violates their human and civil rights.’
(Protecting Our Future 2002, p.25)
Forms of elder abuse:
Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Psychological abuse
Neglect
Financial abuse

3. Terminology
‘Financial abuse’ (Reed 2005; Help the Aged 2008; O’Keeffe et al.
2007)
‘Financial mistreatment’ (Comijs et al. 1998; Laumann et al. 2008)
‘Material abuse’ (Crichton et al. 1999)
‘Financial exploitation’ (Conrad et al. 2010; Acernio et al. 2010)
‘Material exploitation’ (Lachs & Pillemer 2004)
‘Fiduciary abuse’ (Aziz 2000)

4. Definition of Elder Financial Abuse
Financial/material abuse:
‘including theft, fraud, exploitation, pressure in
connection with wills, property or inheritance or
financial transactions, or the misuse or
misappropriation of property, possessions or
benefits’
(Protecting Our Future 2002, p.26)

5. Examples of Elder Financial Abuse
Coercing an older person into opening a joint bank account
Misusing money/assets when appointed power of attorney
Offering to pay bills or do the shopping, but then keep the
money.
Using a bank card without consent
Stealing cash, pension book or household goods
Denying access to money/assets
Forging the older person’s signature
Engaging in identity theft
Typical ‘rackets’ may include: ‘prize winnings’;
‘phony charities’, ‘telemarketing fraud’,
‘rogue traders’ and ‘sweetheart scams’.

6. Risk Factors for Elder Financial Abuse
Cognitive/physical impairment (Jacoby et al. 2005; Choi et al. 1999)
Medical problems
Absence of experience managing money
Own their own house (Choi & Mayer 2000)
Unfamiliar with technical financial matters
(Help the Aged 2006)
Age (in their seventies) (Choi et al. 1999)
Loneliness and social isolation (Help the Aged 2006)
Dependent on the abuser (Help the Aged 2006)
An expectation of entitlement by family (Bagshaw et al. 2013).

7. Indicators of Elder Financial Abuse
Older person does not manage his/her own finances even
though the older person is capable
Unpaid bills or lack of medical care
Sudden appearance of previously uninvolved relatives
Abrupt or unexplained change in power of attorney
Mail redirected to a new address
Provision of unnecessary services
Unexplained or sudden withdrawal/transfer of monies
Deliberate isolation of an older person from friends and
family
Financial activity that the older person could not possibly
have carried out.
(NCEA, n.d.)

8. Indicators of Elder Financial Abuse
‘Decision Making in Detecting and Preventing Financial
Abuse of Older Adults’ (Gilhooly et al. 2011)
Influences on social care, health professionals
and banking staff’s* decision making:
1. The nature of the financial problem
2. The older person’s mental capacity
3. Person in charge of the money*
“She wanted to hide potential
inheritance … to me I felt she was
trying to protect her inheritance
rather than putting her mother first
…” (Financial Advisor)
“She wanted to hide potential
inheritance … to me I felt she was
trying to protect her inheritance
rather than putting her mother first
…” (Financial Advisor)

9. NCPOP Research
in Elder Financial Abuse

10. NCPOP Research in Financial abuse
Elder Financial Abuse in the Community
Financial abuse was the most
frequently reported form of elder abuse
in Ireland.
Prevalence of elder financial abuse is
1.3%.
The most frequently reported
behaviours were:
‘being forced to give money or
property to someone in a position of
trust’ (44%)
‘denied access to money
or property’ (40%).
(Naughton et al. 2010)

11. NCPOP Research in Financial abuse
Financial abuse increased for both men and women in
the ≥ 80 years age group.
Adult children (47%) and ‘other relatives’ (27%) were
most likely to perpetrate financial abuse.
(Naughton et al. 2010)

12. NCPOP Research in Financial abuse
Perpetrated:
Elder Financial Abuse in Residential Care
Observed:
(Drennan et al. 2012)

13. OPEN members
•Dr Deirdre O’Donnell (Project lead)
•Thelma Doran
•Carmel Downes
•Mary McCarthy
•Paddy Sheehan
•Dr Niall Tierney
•Niamh Walker
NCPOP Research in Financial abuse

14. Keep Control
Tools and Resources

15. KEEP CONTROL VIDEO
www.keepcontrol.ie
Link: Keep Control Video - Opening a Third Party Account

16. Elder Financial Abuse: The Challenge
‘The most intricate and complex
cross-agency dimension of
Protecting Our Future’
‘Single most urgent area that
needs to be addressed’
(PA Consultancy Report 2009).

17. National Centre for the Protection of Older People (NCPOP), UCD
UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems
Health Science Centre, University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4.
attracta.lafferty@ucd.ie
www.ncpop.ie
www.keepcontrol.ie