Growing up in Malaysia, you might have heard those phrases – or some variations of them – from your parents or an older relative, especially when it comes to topics like illness or death. The rationale is “out of sight, out of mind”, if you don’t talk about it, it won’t happen.
But the same kind of mentality will not fly with money management. The reality is that we age; we slow down and eventually, we stop to get off the “bus”. That’s part of life, but if you are suitably prepared financially, you can carry on with life unburdened when the effects of aging catch up with you.
You’ve heard it before, that it is crucial to have your financial plan in place from as early as possible, but there is an additional element to doing so. This includes having your retirement plan for any likely scenarios well thought out and planned.
You might not know it, but research shows that our financial competence – meaning the ability to manage our money to achieve our desired goals and values – is one of the first skills to deteriorate as we age and our cognitive abilities naturally decline.
This does not just refer to cases related to mild cognitive impairment (which doesn’t interfere with our everyday activities), Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia, but the natural aging process where one’s mental abilities decline.
The downward curve
Generally, our financial decision-making ability peaks in our early to mid-50s. From there, our financial skills can begin to decline sharply. To make matters worse, as our financial literacy begins to decline, our self-assessment remains intact.
This means, you could be making a very bad investment decision – one you would have recognised from a mile away a few years ago – and yet feel perfectly happy with that decision. A recent survey done by the State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) further provides evidence of this being the case.
In another study, out of 377 participants with high levels of education and financial literacy and did not have any form of dementia, the results showed a significant drop in their financial literacy score while confidence in their financial knowledge was essentially unaffected. The participants were on average 83.2 years old 3 years after the initial assessment.
Though this sounds alarming, this doesn’t happen to everyone at the age of 60s or 70s. Researchers of these studies and surveys acknowledged that the mental decline of one’s financial decision-making ability occurs at different ages for different people. For some it can occur in their late 80s and above. Warren Buffet at age 86, for example, is still one of the most successful investors in the world.
This could also be exacerbated with the changing investment profile as one ages. Not everyone is eager to spend their money as some people in their later years begin to feel vulnerable and take less risk with their money.
However, while each person has a different risk appetite, can we afford to not pre-emptively plan and protect ourselves? Whatever age that mental decline in financial capability occur, the fact that is agreed on from the various reports is that they will eventually occur and that our perception regarding our financial acumen is disproportionate to our actual ability as we age.
The relative increase in overconfidence and declining financial capacity occurs even if we do not suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia. In short, it makes us –aging investors – vulnerable to making unfavourable financial decisions due to our weakening skills while being unaware of the consequences.
Are aging Malaysians in trouble?
The bad news doesn’t stop there as there are other factors to consider. Looking at the reports on our native Malaysian environment, the situation is set to become intensely difficult for the average Malaysian.
Here are 5 environmental reasons Malaysians will struggle with sustaining their retirement and senior living.
1. As of 2015, 68% of EPF members aged 54 had savings less than RM50,000 and most had exhausted their savings within 5 years.
2. 90% and 86% of rural households and urban households respectively had no savings.
3. Only 18% of EPF members achieved the basic savings minimum according to age.
4. Only 20% - 25% of Malaysians have knowledge about financial planning.
5. The situation will further escalate by 2030 as 14% - 15% of the population will be aged 60 and older.
Resistance to dealing with mental decline
Additionally, the problem is made more difficult by human behaviour factors. As previously mentioned earlier, most individuals have a psychological resistance towards planning for mental decline.
Here are 8 reasons why.
Psychological hurdles to dealing with mental decline
1. Fear of loss of independence
2. Fear of mortality
3. Oppose to difficulty
4. Lack of self-awareness
5. Overly optimistic
6. Procrastination
7. Averse to counterparty risk
8. Overconfidence
Planning it right with open dialogue
The truth is, not talking about it won’t make it go away. It is important to seek help from financial advisors. It is a matter of urgency to discuss the potential risks of cognitive decline and develop a well-rounded financial plan that is suitable as counter-measures to mitigate those risks.
One way of doing that is by having an open discussion with your family about creating a living trust, which acts like a will while you are alive but are entering into your “care phase”. The trust sets money aside for your care, while your mental faculties are intact. In doing so, you protect yourself from possible financial disasters and fraud that could leave you destitute in times of need.
Once you have a living trust in place, you can then seek professional help from a Care Manager, to assist you in co-ordinating your care services in the event you enter a stage of mental decline. You won’t need to waste time and money personally going through several care providers before finding one that meets your needs, and the potential for financial abuse is also mitigated. It pays to have a Care Manager who is familiar with you and your circumstances, if anything out of the ordinary should happen they would know it.
In the end, the idea is to address the risks of mental decline early and before any symptoms begin to manifest. By doing so, those involved in your wellbeing can neutralise the risks before they occur. Your family members and financial advisor would also be appreciative of you helping them lessen the burden from the difficult situations that may arise.
In the US, the SSGA report states that investors want to be more fully informed of their options in dealing with mental decline, which is an opportunity for a behavioural shift. The question for Malaysians is, are we willing to do the same?
Aged Care Group (ACG) is in the business of elevating the aged care industry in Malaysia. Its vision is to innovate and transform the perception of aging to create an ecosystem that provides an integrated care system. For more information visit www.agedcare.com.my or contact ACG at 03 – 2142 1666.
No one is ever ready to hear that they have cancer. When news of her colon cancer broke, Choo Mei Sze did not only have to grapple with shock and dysphoria, her struggles were amplified by the financial worries that quickly entailed the experience.
It all began when her dad insisted that she paid the gastrointestinal specialist a visit following bouts of diarrhoea that lasted for three weeks.
“I often experienced tummy upsets and would have to go to the bathroom up to seven times in a day. But I thought it was normal or I had develop a sensitive stomach towards Malaysian food since returning from the United States (where she resided for five years),” the affable Choo told this writer at a recent interview in Petaling Jaya.
At her dad’s insistence, Choo had a colonoscopy but did not think much about it afterwards. And then her placid world unraveled.
“Imagine my shock when I learned I had a tumour about one-third the size of my colon. Doctors were alarmed. They wanted to perform a colostomy as quickly as they could.”
“I had only a week to get my life in order between the diagnosis and my first surgery,” she recalled.
Prior to her diagnosis, 28-year-old Choo, who’d dabbled with television hosting, emceeing and writing, was bagging a comfortable five-figure salary every month. But even that did not prepare her for the financial challenges that were to come.
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What’s going on?
As if learning about her cancer was not trying enough, Choo’s situation grew even more convoluted when she found out that her medical insurance policy had lapsed even though she “paid” her premiums on time!
Prior to the diagnosis results, Choo’s boyfriend had contacted their insurance agent to ask if she could make a claim on her medical card for a growth.
His queries were immediately met with a “no,” and their frantic and numerous attempts to reach him afterwards were to no avail.
The distressed couple wasted no time in scouring for other means to get around the problem and by some luck, they managed to get in touch with the agent’s supervisor.
“We found out that the agent “forgot” to pay the premium that I remitted to him for past six months, making my policy a “lapsed policy”!”
When the doctors confirmed she had cancer, Choo, who’d been left in a state of confusion realised she would have no choice but to tackle the problem head-on.
“The hospital demanded a deposit of RM24,000 upfront. My mum had to swipe her credit card as the amount exceeded my limit,” she shared.
Choo was hospitalised for nine days after the surgery. Her one-week stay at a private hospital raked up a total of RM42,000.
Her struggles did not end there. Choo, with the help of her parents, would again have to fork out an upfront amount for her second surgery, held just one and a half month later.
“Both surgeries amounted to about RM70,000, which my parents had to pay with their credit card again,” said Choo, who shared that her mum runs a real estate businesses, while her dad is a remisier.
Throughout her ordeal, her insurance agent was nowhere to be found and could not be reached. “My boyfriend was very mad,” she shared.
The couple fought tooth-and-nail for the case. “When you have cancer, you really don’t want to deal with anything else. But we had to go through so much hassle, we made countless calls, filed several reports, we even contacted Bank Negara,” she said.
Thankfully, Choo’s case got through in November 2014 and she was able to make a claim for critical illness.
“The agent’s supervisor was very helpful,” said Choo, who added that she was later informed that her case was a “one-off” occurrence. She admitted that perhaps filing her complaint as a “public figure” may have helped speed up the process.
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Surviving the big “C”
“I cried my eyes out when I found out I had cancer. I cried like crazy. But then I realised I had to stop crying and find the strength to fight this thing,” said Choo.
And so she fought, and then she won. Her colostomy was reversed in early August.
However, Choo noted that the chances of her cancer recurring were high. “When you get cancer in youth, the cancer cells are about five times more aggressive than they would have been if you were older.”
She now requires close monitoring, and recurring costs from the routine check-ups and scans will come up to RM15,000 per annum.
“I am lucky that I will be able to claim for some of that. But having gone through cancer, I have no other options but to stick with the same insurance policy, the company and the agent because I am now considered a liability and no other insurer will cover me.
“I shudder to think of what will happen if my family did not have the money to pay for my surgery,” she said.
To help others avoid making her mistake, Choo offers some advice for picking a medical insurance agent on her blog:
Get a medical card with Critical Illness coverage, increase it as you get older.
Make sure you can TRUST your insurance agent. Don’t just buy to help anyone but make sure you know you are buying from someone who has been in the industry for a very long time and has a good track record. Some insurance agents even go to the hospital to check in with you.
Get an EMPATHETIC insurance agent, basically someone who cares. The worse part about Choo’s case is that her agent didn’t care which makes her very disappointed. Going through cancer is one thing but having to deal with the financial bit on top of that really tests a person.
When paying your premium, it is best to direct debit from your credit card monthly instead of paying to a person. If you pay your agent directly, make sure you get a receipt for every single payment.
Make sure you get your statements and physical policies from your insurer to ensure that what the agent sold you matches what you’re actually receiving.
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A new lease of life
“I was only 27 when I was diagnosed with cancer. I was the youngest patient my doctor had. Only 2% of the general population who are female in their 20s will get cancer. I am that lucky 2% ,” she said with a laugh.
“Maybe God is really trying to test me. Maybe there is a bigger purpose to this.”
Choo, who had been pursuing a PhD in psychology prior to her diagnosis, said she will spend more time focusing on herself this year.
“I have always been an overachiever. I was always a straight A’s student. I had a plan for my life. And then the cancer struck, and all my plans got derailed.
“Now, I just want to take a step back and focus on being more spiritual, read, write and learn more about myself. This is a year for me to grow and love myself, and to really do the things I like,” said Choo, who recently travelled to Kyoto and Osaka in Japan.
She also wants to empower other cancer patients. “My post on my experience with cancer has reached over 600,000 people on Facebook alone. My website’s bandwidth exceeded its limit within the first 24 hours.
“From this, I deduce that people are looking for inspiration, empowerment and information on cancer and I would like to do my best to help,” she said.
sumber:https://www.imoney.my/articles/mental-decline-could-have-a-dire-impact-on-your-finances
https://www.imoney.my/articles/how-one-woman-struggled-against-cancer-and-her-finances
