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Press Releases
Helping Seniors Remain Fiscally Fit:
How-to
Guide to Money Management for Seniors and their Families Available from the
FDIC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2005 |
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With the average American living longer and spending more years (and more
money) in retirement than ever before, senior citizens need to find ways to
stretch and preserve their savings. The latest issue of FDIC Consumer
News,
published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, is a special edition
devoted to helping seniors and their families make smart decisions about their
retirement funds.
The new publication is entitled "Fiscal Fitness for Older Americans:
Stretching Your Savings and Shaping Up Your Financial Strategies." It
features practical tips and information on:
• Sources of funds during retirement and potential pitfalls
to avoid. The
newsletter provides guidance on when to tap into Social Security benefits
and retirement savings, problems that can occur when borrowing money in retirement,
and what to consider before investing in annuities.
• Protecting against financial frauds that target the elderly. Identity theft,
advance-payment scams (demands for up-front money in connection with questionable
offers) and fraudulent deals involving home sales or mortgage loans are just
a few of the crimes aimed at older Americans. FDIC Consumer News also
says that "inside jobs" by relatives or caregivers -- from identity
theft to stealing money and property -- are surprisingly common. The guide
outlines ways to avoid being a victim.
• Simplifying and organizing finances. Topics include protecting important
financial documents (such as in the case of a natural disaster, as happened
recently in the Gulf Coast areas) and taking precautions with accounts that
have been closed. The FDIC also notes that there are professionals who help
the ill or elderly (and their families) with bill paying, deposits and other
daily money matters.
• What to consider before giving others access to bank accounts
and safe deposit boxes. The FDIC provides guidance on making decisions about whose
names are added to accounts and explains how such decisions can determine
who has a right to withdraw money and how much of the funds are FDIC-insured.
• Things
seniors (and everyone else) should know about FDIC insurance. Examples:
Depositors may qualify for more than $100,000 of insurance if
they have accounts in different ownership categories. Also, a death
or divorce in a family can reduce the FDIC insurance coverage on certain
joint accounts
and trust accounts.
The FDIC newsletter also features retirement strategies to consider at
different life stages, a
15-question quiz on money management for seniors, and a list of government
resources (including some from the FDIC) that older Americans and their
families can turn to for help on financial matters.
The Fall 2005 issue is available online at www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnfall05.
The FDIC also is taking additional steps to make the information in this
special edition widely available to the public. The agency is providing
single copies free of charge through the Federal Citizen Information
Center by ordering online (start at the FDIC Web site above) or by writing
to:
Fiscal Fitness for Older Americans, Pueblo, CO 81009. Consumers also
may call toll-free 1-888-8-PUEBLO -- that's 1-888-878-3256 -- weekdays 8
a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time and ask for
Fiscal Fitness for Older Americans. Also, the FDIC is encouraging financial
institutions, retirement communities, government agencies, consumer groups,
the media and others to reprint the new guide in whole or in part and
to mention or link to the FDIC Web site.
The goal of the quarterly FDIC Consumer News is to deliver timely, reliable
and innovative tips
and information on financial matters, free of charge. Current and past
issues are online at www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news. The FDIC also
offers a free subscription service that provides an e-mail about each new
issue posted to the Web site and a link to stories of interest. Instructions
for subscribing are posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.
Information in FDIC Consumer News may be reprinted in whole or in part
without permission from the FDIC. Material used should be credited
to "FDIC
Consumer News, a publication of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation."
# # #
Congress created the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the
nation's
banking system. The FDIC insures deposits
at the nation's 8,868 banks and savings associations and it promotes the
safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring
and addressing
risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars — insured
financial institutions fund its operations.
FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at
www.fdic.gov, by subscription electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html)
and may also be obtained through the FDIC’s Public Information Center
(877-275-3342 or (703) 562-2200). PR-117-2005
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