Senior Citizens and Money - Is it now an academic discipline?
I recently saw an article which quoted the “Dean of the American Institute of Financial Gerontology and Associate Director of the Gerontology Program at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.” I was a bit taken aback by the term “Financial Gerontology.” I was also taken aback by the fact that there seemed to be an institute, a think tank, I guess, that focuses on the financial issues of the elderly, and uses the term “gerontology” to do it.
Apparently, for financial advisors, there is a body of study that is developing that will guide advice to senior citizens and their families. I wonder if from this will come new “principles” regarding suitability, especially in the area of variable annuities? The magazine Registered Rep interviewed the “Dean” of the think tank that by his title I was so intrigued. The web site at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro was thin on details but touts its 36 hour masters program as beneficial to financial advisors, but provides no details. The “newsletter” of the gerontology department was a “dead link” on the website and had not been updated since November 2006, in any event.
Thus, it would seem this idea of “financial gerontology” is still incubating and probably not quite ready for prime time. Nevertheless, it no doubt will develop further and is worth watching.
