The demographic of the United States is changing. To put it bluntly, we are aging rapidly. Today there are 46 million seniors over the age of 65 and, as the baby-boomer generation matures to age 65 between now and 2030, that number is projected to increase by 18 million.
As the elderly population continues to grow, the children of these seniors are becoming more and more involved in caring for their cherished loved ones. This can cause extreme stress on those adults trying to juggle their own careers, families, and day-to day responsibilities while managing the affairs of their loved ones.
For an elderly senior, financial tasks like balancing a checkbook, paying bills, organizing paperwork, and filing taxes can be totally overwhelming and filled with anxiety. Many seniors have multiple streams of income such as Social Security, pensions, annuities, and 401-K distributions. They also have medical bills, housing expenses and utility bills, not to mention credit cards.
As their caregiver, trying to juggle all these tasks while trying to manage your own life responsibilities can become exasperating. When your loved one becomes less independent or simply needs some assistance to fully enjoy their lives, you should consider hiring an affordable financial concierge service to help.
Here are tasks a virtual personal bookkeeper can do:
1. Bill-Paying Services
This will make sure that bills are paid accurately and on time each and every month.
2. Verifying Income Deposits
With multiple accounts, it can be difficult to keep track of everything. A financial concierge service has systems in place to assure that income is received and alerts you if there are issues.
3. Cash Management
Many seniors are on fixed income, and monitoring spending can be crucial. Even if finances aren’t an issue, establishing a budget and managing cash requirements can help make sure your loved one isn’t being exploited or money is missing.
4. Organizing Paperwork for Taxes
When tax time rolls around, one of the most difficult challenges is gathering all the paperwork for filing. Retirement account statements, 1099s, SSA-1099s, medical bills, charitable giving receipts can all be organized in one place by the financial concierge service and they can prepare income tax returns as well.
5. Monitoring for Fraud
Everyone is susceptible to fraud schemes, scams, identity theft and overcharges; but the elderly are an especially easy target. Telephone scams, computer phishing scams and ransom-ware attacks are easily perpetrated on unaware seniors. A financial concierge service can monitor bank accounts and credit card statements for fraud and overcharges and alert the caregiver so accounts can be frozen and credit shut down.
6. Preparing and Emailing Reports
One of the most important aspects of hiring an elder-care virtual bookkeeper is that they will keep you in the loop. Not only will they provide you with detailed monthly reports of your loved one’s finances, they will be able to analyze income and expenses and help you plan for both long- and short-term cash flow needs.
With elder-care financial concierge services, you can rest assured that your loved one’s needs will be met while you get the help of a certified, caring professional who is on your team. This will allow you to spend quality time with your loved one without the added pressure of also managing their finances.
Numbers by Victoria is a West Palm Beach bookkeeper who offers virtual bookkeeping services and other financial options for individuals and small businesses. Since our services can be performed virtually, we’re able to work with people all over the United States. To contact Numbers By Victoria, or to learn more about our bookkeeping services, please visit: www.numbersbyvictoria.com.
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