Social Care News

Tips from Alheimer's Society on helping dementia sufferers deal with their money

Alheimer’s Society tips for helping dementia sufferers manage their finances

Following its report on December 14 on how dementia sufferers are being targeted by unscrupulous con artists and sales people http://alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/press_article.php?pressReleaseID=742,

the Society has come up a series of tips for helping older people deal with their finances.

These are:

1. Discuss money management with your family â€“ Money can be a difficult subject to talk about but it’s important you plan how you want your finances to be managed if you became unable to look after them yourself.

2. Set up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) - This enables a person with dementia to choose someone they trust to make decisions on their behalf about things such as paying bills and collecting income once they are no longer able to take those decisions. However, LPAs need to be set up while a person with dementia still has capacity.

3. Speak to the local bank manager â€“ People with dementia and their carer should talk to their bank manager as soon after a diagnosis as possible. The discussion can look at extra support that may be available as their condition progresses and ways of managing money, eg using a signature card instead of a PIN number

4. Stop junk mail and unwanted telephone calls â€“ There are a number of ways to do this, such as signing up to the Mailing Preference Service at mpsonline.org.uk and joining the Telephone Preference Service register.

5. Put a ‘no cold callers’ sign on the door - These can be obtained from the local trading standards department.  Six of the major energy suppliers will not knock on doors which have a ‘no door to door salesman’ sticker/sign on them.