Charitable Giving

In spite of their lower incomes, people aged 65 and more contribute to religious, educational, charitable and political organizations 11% more than people aged 55 to 64. Seniors aged 75 and older are even more generous with their donations.

Research has revealed that this generosity stems from a psychological cause, with older adults taking more pleasure in giving to charity as opposed to their younger counterparts. At the same time, seniors seem to have a diminished capacity when it comes to making financial decisions in retirement, according to Daniel Marson, a neurology professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “In fact, I might say it’s inevitable.”

Many retirees might consider themselves perfectly capable of managing their money in retirement, but it doesn’t hurt for another family member to keep track of things. Services such as EverSafe, for instance, allow a designated family member to supervise a senior’s finances and receive alerts in case of suspicious withdrawals, changes in spending habits and other unusual activities, with the retiree still in control of the money at all times.