Tag Archives: seniors

Buying a home in Retirement? You’ll need these Resources

Posted By |
Photo Credit: Rawpixel

By Sharon Wagner

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Buying a home and preparing for retirement can be stressful enough on their own, so when the two intersect it can be easy to feel like you’re in over your head. With some careful planning, you can avoid a lot of the headaches that often go with buying a new home. These resources can assist with making informed choices when it comes to budgeting for your new home and your move.

Planning & paying for your new home

Money can be tight in retirement, so it’s important for you to think carefully about all of the potential expenses that can come with purchasing a new home.

Address retirement finance concerns before diving in; you can access reliable information through Financial Independence Hub.

Preparing for the costs of Aging in Place

Aging in place features are important for seniors, so make sure you know which features to look for and what costs to expect.

Decluttering & downsizing your current home

Cut stress and expense by decluttering and budgeting for help.
Continue Reading…

Supporting the Finances of Seniors in the age of COVID-19

Posted By |
iStock

By Rick Lowes 

Special to the Financial Independence Hub 

COVID-19 continues to have a tremendous impact on every aspect of our lives, from the way we work and connect with friends and family to how we shop and bank. Yet as we look at the world around us changing, the need for social distancing measures and self-isolation has accelerated the pace of digital adoption, especially among a population that is considered highly vulnerable to this pandemic.

While ensuring there continues to be support for seniors available through in-branch visits, we want to keep our seniors safe and that means more focused efforts by phone, and stepping up support to  help seniors bank online.

RBC recently initiated customized proactive outreach to seniors, reinforcing the message “be safe, stay home” – and we’ve seen a very positive response from seniors. In the span of just a month, we saw an 84% increase in digital enrollment among clients aged 60+ and a 210% rise in digital activity from seniors who were enrolled, but had not actively used online banking for at least six months. The most actively used online and mobile banking options per week: sending electronic money transfers and making payments.

We understand online or mobile banking can feel intimidating for Canadians of all ages who are first time users. This made it crucial to ensure we could make online and mobile banking as simple and convenient as possible. We set up our “bank easy” hub, with how-to videos and very clear instruction guides, to show how easily – and securely – anyone can bank digitally, using online and mobile banking to do their everyday transactions.

Front-of-the-line access for those over 70

With a significant rise in calls to our contact centre, we are also prioritizing calls from clients over the age of 70: and ensuring seniors get this same “front of the line” access for branch visits. Continue Reading…

Part-time job options for Seniors

Posted By |
Photo Credit: Unsplash.com

By Sharon Wagner

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Retirement is your time to relax. You don’t have to report to a full-time job and the kids are all grown up, so it can be tempting to simply kick your feet up and do absolutely nothing. Staying busy during your retirement years will help keep you healthy, however, and is even shown to improve happiness. A part-time job provides a challenge and gives you purpose.

Getting a part-time job also has obvious financial benefits. Many Americans [and Canadians!] fear running out of money in retirement. With a steady income flow, you will have to rely less heavily on savings or pension accounts. You will also have more money to spend on hobbies you enjoy, such as traveling or trying out new restaurants. Discover three part-time jobs for retirees below.

If you love culture: work in a museum

If you have an appreciation for art, a gig at a museum may be the perfect choice for you. Working as a tour guide or customer service rep will require you to interact with visitors regularly. Responsibilities might include handling inquiries, answering questions, and ringing up purchases. You’ll also learn and memorize new facts. Challenging your brain like this is important to stave off the mental decline that may otherwise come with age.

As people age, they also lose muscle mass due to a condition known as sarcopenia. A museum job will require you to be on your feet, standing and walking around, and can fight such decline. Research has further shown that attending cultural events improves health among seniors, resulting in lower blood pressure, for instance. You can scout out possible positions via an online museum job search platform.

 If you enjoy working with kids: become a teacher

According to a Stanford University study, both kids and seniors benefit when they come into contact. Older adults who work with kids have been seen to welcome the sense of purpose the interactions give them. The intergenerational relationships also benefit little ones, who can learn from an older person’s life experiences, patience, and emotional stability. Continue Reading…

Marketing tips for reaching the Seniors demographic

Posted By |

By Meggie Nahatakyan

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

When selling to seniors in this age of digital marketing careers, it’s not just about making the fonts of your sales copy bigger and bolder. Yes, selling a product to this market sector is somewhat different than selling the same product to the millennials. So, how can you convince the elderly to buy your product?

Understand the seniors market

There are a number of fundamental things that you need to know before attempting to market your product to seniors.

1.) The very first thing to know is the exact places where the majority of them reside. You can get this information by researching their demographic records. There are online portals that offer this kind of service. Knowing where your market is concentrated will help you focus your marketing campaign more effectively and economically.

2.) Use the information contained in Amazon selling statistics. You will be able to get an overall picture of how your market reacts to certain products or services by using the information contained in this database. Information such as their spending habits and other stuff can help you successfully sell to this age group.

Think like a senior

If you put yourself in their shoes, you will get an inkling of their needs and wants. Here are some things that you might want to consider:

1.) Most seniors take drugs or medicine for their particular health conditions. Knowing the most prevalent health conditions of seniors will help you cater your product to their wants and wishes.

2.) Most seniors attend church. A report from a news network revealed that a majority of those who are 65 and older go to church each week. Churches usually have bulletin boards for their sundry announcements. You can use these venues to get your product in front of your audience.

3.) Publish your product in the pages of publications catering to seniors. Additionally, a study also showed that a lot of them choose to read their news from the traditional print copy or newspapers rather than surfing the web for online news.

Talk like a senior

The best way to sell a product to someone that you really don’t know is to speak his or her language. In other words, don’t use the language of a young person if you are trying to convince an elderly person to buy your product. You need to understand the psychology of the senior’s language.

For instance, most millennials are excited by the prospect of owning a certain electronic gadget. Seniors, on the other hand, are more concerned about how a product can improve the way they live. It pays to use their language and their way of communicating and to avoid the lingo that is most popularly used in your particular age group. Always remember that communicating is a way of relating tothe other person.

Know that seniors have different concerns

In marketing a product, it is fundamentally telling the other person what the product can do for him. It is not really just selling the product per se. Continue Reading…

Social Isolation: a growing epidemic

Posted By |

By Candace Hartman

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

There is a growing surge of isolation and loneliness in our communities.

Social isolation affects all ages, in every level of society, and results in serious health consequences. Last year the British Parliament appointed Tracey Crouch to address the issue in their country and in our city, Vancouver released its year long study on the problem shortly afterwards.

These events caught the attention of the public and resulted in a minor media storm which eventually faded away.

And what has changed? Urbanization, immigration, the impact of technology, economic factors, securalism, an aging society with mobility and health challenges – the causes of isolation and loneliness are multi-faceted and complex. These are not issues easily addressed by government.

Isolation and Loneliness are social issues needing a response

Isolation and loneliness are social issues needing personal response within our own individual communities.

The past year in Vancouver has seen the exponential growth of Beyond the Conversation, a non profit agency creating connections among hundreds of seniors, new immigrants, refugees, international students, and youth who have joined their groups.

The South Granville Seniors Centre are enthusiastically embarking on a year long outreach project to contact isolated seniors within their community; Knox United Church are coordinating meetings among support organizations to facilitate networking, as well as promoting social connection within their community through a number of creative initiatives

Intergenerational housing – such as Happipad’s Igen project – is growing in Canada, organizations which pairs students in need of housing with seniors seeking companionship.

This spring, in southwest England, a community group hosted a “Make Someone Welcome” event where neighbours and locals came to learn the skills to better respond to the climbing loneliness of residents in their town.

These are just a very few of the endeavors I’ve had the honour of discovering over the past year, there are countless caring, compassionate and enthusiastic individuals and organizations reaching out worldwide.

The power of community.

Candace Hartman is a writer and social advocate who can be contacted at QuadraGranvilleSeniors.com. This blog was originally published on the organization’s blog on April 14, 2019 and is republished on the Hub with permission.