By Sam Kunjukunju
When my father-in-law was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, my family’s entire world changed. Within a year after his diagnosis, my father-in-law could no longer speak, eat, move or breathe on his own. What began with subtle changes in his gait evolved into full-body paralysis.
ALS is a cruel disease. It steals muscle control piece by piece, until things like breathing and swallowing without life-supporting technology become impossible.
Assisting my father-in-law became an urgent, all-hands effort to keep him alive. For my wife and her sisters, they never saw themselves as “caregivers” as they managed every second of his day. In their minds, they were simply devoted daughters loving their father. But they became nurses, care coordinators, advocates and translators for a mind locked inside an immobile shell.
Yet there was another, less visible transformation that also happened. As their father lost his physical autonomy, my wife and her sisters were thrust into a role few are prepared for: They became financial caregivers.
Once the head of the household, my father-in-law could no longer sign a check, access financial accounts or authorize payments. Everything from paying the mortgage and reviewing insurance claims to handling legal paperwork now fell squarely on their shoulders. They had to navigate a world of forms, policies and permissions that felt as complex as any medical diagnosis. But they showed up every day out of love and they did what they had to do until the very end.
Their story is not an exception. It is a current reality for many and a preview for others.
Today, more than 63 million Americans are caregivers. Many are also increasingly becoming financial caregivers, or managers of others’ money. With the aging of the baby boomers, millions more will find themselves in similar roles. By 2034, adults over 65 will outnumber children under 18 for the first time in our nation’s history. With this demographic shift comes an urgent need to reimagine how we support caregiving, especially financial caregiving, which few prepare for until it’s too late.
Fortunately, however, banks can play a crucial role in providing much-needed support. Here are four ways your bank can help:
- Create dedicated caregiving resources on your website. Help customers prepare for their financial futures and those of their loved ones by offering accessible and clear online guidance. Specific website pages highlighting topics such as talking about financial caregiving, naming beneficiaries, setting up trusted contacts, establishing financial powers of attorney, organizing financial records and using digital banking tools are very beneficial. Check out ABA Foundation’s consumer resource hub at aba.com/caregiving as a starting point.
- Host workshops in your community. Use free, turnkey resources from the ABA Foundation through our Safe Banking for Seniors campaign to educate people on topics like financial caregiving, powers of attorney, roles of executors, and planning for stages of cognitive decline. Register for free at aba.com/seniors.
- Train your staff to support caregivers. Ensure your team knows the tools and resources the bank offers and how to connect customers with additional support. Partner with organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association or Dementia Friendly America to enhance staff education and sensitivity. Consider designating staff trained in caregiving and aging related issues.
- Develop caregiver-friendly banking tools. Provide features such as read-only or view-only account access, budgeting tools to help track expenses, alerts for unusual spending and options to designate trusted contacts. The goal is to enable caregivers to support financial oversight, detect suspicious activity and serve as backup contacts, while preserving the account holder’s independence.
Despite dealing with a “rare” condition, what my wife, her sisters and our families endured emotionally, physically and financially is far from uncommon. They carried my father-in-law through his final chapter with courage, tenderness and grit. They managed both his ventilator and his bank accounts, preserving his life as long as they could. He ended up fighting the disease very bravely for eight years.
This month is National Family Caregivers Month, and I encourage you to reflect on the millions of Americans with similar stories and consider supporting the caregivers in your own communities.
Sam Kunjukunju is VP, consumer education at ABA.
