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Senior Citizen Alerts
Senior Citizen Investors Being Fooled by Titles
Easily Obtained: New York Times
Fourth article in series by New York Times on how
companies, people are trying to profit on wealthy elderly in America
 July
9, 2007 – Every senior citizen that has money invested, or is
considering investment, needs to read an article in the New York Times
online. The primary warning in this article is that seniors should not
be fooled by fancy sounding titles, like “Certified Senior Adviser.”
Many are easily obtained by people who want to take advantage of the
elderly in America who own $15 trillion in assets.
The article’s title is, “For Elderly Investors,
Instant Experts Abound,” and it is the fourth in a series by the New
York Times’ business staff “examining how businesses and investors seek
to profit from the soaring number of older Americans.” Links to all four
artiles are below.
The article begins with a focus on Mary Ann St.
Clair who trusted the advice of a financial counselor carrying the title
of “Certified Senior Advisor.” She later says the terms of the financial
products she was sold were never fully explained. She says the counselor
“tricked” her into buying complicated insurance contracts that left her
unable to pay dental and home-repair bills.
The Times learned that this “Certified Senior
Adviser” was paid $720,000 in commissions in one year by insurance
companies.
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“As older Americans’ wealth has grown, so too have
programs that offer quickly earned credentials or that teach agents how
to sell to the elderly,” reports the newspaper.
“The number of certified senior advisers has
increased by 78 percent in the last five years. More than two dozen such
programs now exist, and have enrolled more than 39,000 people over the
last decade. As more baby boomers retire, the number of programs and
enrollees is likely to grow significantly, analysts say.
“But some of the existing programs, which are often
linked to insurance companies, have taught agents to use abusive sales
techniques, regulators say.
The insurers Allianz, Old Mutual and American
Equity have been listed as sponsors at seminars with names like the
Million Dollar Academy, where thousands of sales representatives were
advised to scare retirees by saying, ‘I am all that stands between you
and potential catastrophic loss.’ Other seminars instructed agents to
‘drive a wedge’ between retirees and their established advisers.”
>>
Click here to story at N.Y. Times (you many need to register)
Part of continuing series
Articles in this series are examining how
businesses and investors seek to profit from the soaring number of older
Americans, in ways helpful and harmful.
Links to Previous Articles
●
Bilking the Elderly, With a Corporate Assist (May 20, 2007)
●
Aged, Frail and Denied Care by Their Insurers (March 26, 2007)
●
Late in Life, Finding a Bonanza in Life Insurance (December 17,
2006)
New York Times graphic
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