How Credit Unions Can Support Families Navigating Alzheimer’s

By Cameron Huddleston, Editor at Large, Carefull

Over seven million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease. Credit unions are uniquely positioned to provide vital assistance to this vulnerable segment of the population and those caring for them as they are on the front lines of helping families manage transitions, protect finances, and detect fraud and exploitation.

More importantly, credit unions that incorporate tailored solutions for members with Alzheimer’s into their operations can position themselves as compassionate institutions that stand by their account holders through all stages of life.

The Link Between Alzheimer’s and Finances

While Alzheimer’s is often linked to memory loss, research shows that one of the earliest skills to decline is the ability to manage money – sometimes years before noticeable memory issues appear:

• Those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are more likely to miss bill payments up to six years before a diagnosis compared with healthy adults, according to a study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins, University of Michigan and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
• Credit scores among people who later develop dementia begin falling sharply long before their disease is formally identified, according to research from Georgetown University and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
• Household wealth of people with dementia declines at a much faster rate in the decade before diagnosis than the wealth of people without dementia, according to a study published in JAMA Neurology.
• A University of Southern California study of adults age 50-plus found that vulnerability to scams could be an early indicator of dementia.

What Credit Unions Can Do

Often, by the time Alzheimer’s is diagnosed, money mistakes have been happening for years. This delayed detection represents a missed opportunity to increase financial safety and security. Credit unions should be taking a proactive approach.

Help families recognize the financial signs of dementia. Raising awareness about the impact that cognitive decline can have on finances can help older adults and their families be more attuned to this issue and to be on the lookout for warning signs. This can be done through in-branch materials, email newsletters, webinars, and in-person education.

Train employees on dementia awareness. Credit unions should provide ongoing training to help frontline staff recognize the signs of Alzheimer’s and interact effectively with affected members. Incorporating real-world scenarios led by dementia experts can be especially effective.

Offer smart monitoring that detects changes in financial behavior. Changes in financial behavior related to Alzheimer’s can easily go undetected by traditional transaction alerts. That’s why credit unions must invest in technologies built specifically to detect issues impacting older adults. Behavioral analytics powered by machine learning and AI can spot subtle changes that can be early warning signs of dementia, such as late, missed and duplicate payments, changes in spending patterns, and increased susceptibility to scams.

Encourage the use of trusted contacts and view-only account access. For early detection to be effective, information needs to be shared in a timely manner. One approach is to allow members to name trusted contacts and to grant them view-only access to accounts or to account alerts. Having that second set of eyes from a trusted family member who can quickly intervene when small money mistakes are identified can prevent them from becoming detrimental financial problems.

Credit unions have a responsibility to protect account holders with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Fortunately, technology exists to help credit unions provide this protection.

Carefull was built specifically to recognize senior-specific risks and support coordination with family caregivers. Its smart monitoring technology determines what is normal behavior to catch changes that can be early warning signs of cognitive decline, such as:

• Out-of-character purchases, transfers, and withdrawals
• Changes in geographic radius of purchases (shorter distances traveled can indicate issues with navigation/getting lost) 
• Increased charitable or political contributions
• Late, missed, and duplicate payments
• Swings in spending, including pharmacy spending

Carefull’s comprehensive platform also includes a Trusted Contacts system that allows older adults to give trusted family members view-only access to accounts and alerts so that they can get involved, if necessary. It offers education through timely articles provided to users in their Carefull dashboard, weekly activity summary email, monthly newsletters and co-branded microsites built for credit union partners. And it includes credit, identity and home title monitoring to provide comprehensive financial protection – plus $1 million in identity theft insurance.

Connect with Carefull and schedule a demo to learn how your credit union can help protect older adults.