Last week we held a seniors’ conference for those 65 and over at the culture hall in Rehovot entitled “Now is your time.” Despite the Day of Disruption that took place at those exact hours, hundreds came to the Culture Hall in Rehovot and enjoyed an intriguing exhibition, a performance by Shlomit Aharon and inspiring content. One of the interesting panels at the event was the economic panel.Let’s talk about moneySponsored by Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, which shines a spotlight on burning, interesting and relevant issues for the 65+ population, and discusses various financial solutions relevant to the senior crowd.
They participated in the panel Shay AbuChairman of the Association of Consultants and Trainers for the Family Economy, Roy KorenDirector of SENIOR MARKET, a consulting company that specializes in the elderly population, and Illinois Gispanresponsible for her retirement home in Mizrachi Tefahot, and we discussed the various financial issues that come up at these ages, and the various solutions that can be offered to deal with them.
Abu shared that “many people reach retirement age and unfortunately have no income, because in the past there was no such thing as setting aside a pension,” and expanded on saying that “we need to give people the opportunity to live well, in a benevolent way. The last thing parents would want is to feel that they burden on the children”
Even as you get older – the goal is to live and enjoy”
Koren, whose area of concern is actually the senior population, noted that “Israel is one of the countries with the lowest financial literacy in the OECD.” In order to overcome this matter, Koren suggests performing 3 financial “check-ups” for every person approaching retirement age. The first, at the age of 55 – about ten years before retirement. According to Koren, just before retirement you should map what you have: pension, assets and capital, and especially to see if there is a gap between the existing standard of living and the desired one. The second financial check-up will come at retirement age, in order to examine whether we have met the same goals set in the previous check-up. The third check-up will come around the mid-70s, when nursing needs may begin to rise. Such check-ups will give the opportunity to prepare for this period of life in the best possible way.
Elino Gispan from Mizrachi Tefahot shared and said: “Several years ago, we identified among our elderly customers a vital need to finance various expenses. As a leading bank, we conducted research, surveys and held focus groups with the elderly in order to understand the needs and concerns in a deep and personal way, and so after Thinking, the pension mortgage products were born with very unique characteristics for the age.” According to her, the financial solutions under her pension mortgage are varied, and she explained: “There are products that are adapted to a monthly need, fixed or variable – monthly expenses, payment for sheltered housing, to a caregiver, to help children, etc. And there are products that are adapted to a one-time need – such as covering obligations, renovation and the accessibility of the property, Helping the children to buy an apartment and even giving the children an inheritance in a warm hand”
In the summary of the panel, all the participants agreed that it is important that the children are involved in any such financial decision-making process, although the right of choice is the parents’ and it is important that each person and family check, when possible, and preferably with the help of professionals, what is the ideal financial solution for them.