Date 05.12.13
This Monday, December 2nd 2013, our Partner and Insolvency Trustee Andy Fisher was interviewed by Rob Carrick from The Globe and Mail.
Seniors are facing financial challenges that previous generations did not. Here are a few suggested by Andy Fisher, an Insolvency Trustee at Farber Financial Group:
- Extra costs:
Cellphones, computers and Internet access are comparatively new costs for seniors and essential for keeping in contact with family and friends. - Investment losses:
Mr. Fisher believes some seniors still haven’t recouped losses sustained from the 2008-09 stock market plunge. - Low interest rates:
At a time when they have less ability to take on investment risk, seniors face historically low returns from safe vehicles, such as guaranteed investment certificates and bonds. - Sandwich issues:
Longer lifespans mean someone moving into retirement could be supporting both aged parents and adult children.
What if someone dies with no assets to speak of?
This is possible for a senior living off pension income and government benefits that cease after death. In such cases, Mr. Fisher said, the lender is out of luck.
‘If I was the executor, I would write to all the creditors to advise that the individual is deceased and that there are no assets available in the estate.’—Andy Fisher, Insolvency Trustee
The issue of rising debt levels in younger demographics is often framed as a matter of living beyond one’s means or, to be blunt, self-indulgence. There’s probably a little of this going on with people who are retiring on incomes that come up short in providing the lifestyles they enjoyed while working.”
Read the whole interview here.