Banks Urged To Help Stop Financial Abuse of Seniors

By Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun

November 14, 2008

Canada

Financial abuse of seniors quickly emerged as a hot topic Thursday as health-care experts, lawyers, academics and policy makers gathered in Vancouver for the fourth annual Canadian Elder Care conference.

But it was who was missing from the debate that generated the most comment among the estimated 150 international conference participants.

"So much of elder abuse is financial abuse and that involves the banks . . . and they're not here," said Graham Webb, a lawyer with the Toronto-based Advocacy Centre for the Elderly.

Margaret Easton of Westminster Savings Credit Union was the only voice representing financial institutions nationwide.

Easton, a counsellor in planning for elders, said her interests lie in educating people about seniors' rights related to the often complex and delicate negotiations around financial guardianship, and the creation of joint accounts.

Without adequate training, bank workers can increase seniors' vulnerability to the bad -- or, in some cases deliberately misleading -- advice of family members or caregivers.

It's a situation that can be corrected with proper education and motivation, Easton said. A recent U.S. survey found that 14 of the 22 leading indicators of financial abuse can be caught right at the bank teller window by an alert clerk.

Joan Braun, executive director of the BC Centre for Elder Advocacy Support, said a newly installed telephone hotline for seniors has already logged several calls alleging financial abuse.

"It's one of the biggest issues we are hearing about," Braun said.

Webb said he was involved in two separate cases in Ontario involving senior clients whose bank accounts were bilked by a family member working in conjunction with a bank employee.

The Canadian Elder Care conference -- which runs until Saturday at the Sheraton Wall Centre -- is hosted by the Canadian Centre for Elder Law. This year's lecture topics include predatory lending, seniors' sexuality, guardianship monitoring and end-of-life decisions.

Among the speakers is former federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough, who will moderate a panel on the Hague Convention on the Protection of Vulnerable Persons.

Seniors' rights have become an increasingly critical topic around the world as the baby-boom generation moves into its senior years.

By 2030, 25 per cent of the B.C. population will be over the age of 65.

Aging is no longer an issue the public can afford to ignore, Webb said.

"There's a saying that goes, 'There are those who are elderly and those who aren't elderly yet,'" he said. 

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