By Jill Yesko , University Relations
Contact (336) 334-3890
Posted: 1-9-07
GREENSBORO, N.C. – People who hope to live to be 100 will need more than good health to make it to the century mark. Financial health is just as important, and people need to plan carefully to avoid outliving their money.
That’s the message of the American Institute of Financial Gerontology (AIFG), a national training institute that invites financial professionals to earn the Registered Financial Gerontologist (RFG) designation so they can better respond to the needs of middle-aged and older clients and their families.
AIFG relocated to UNCG in December. The Institute offers specialized gerontology training seminars to qualified financial planners, accountants, insurance brokers, elder law attorneys and other financial professionals.
“Having the AIFG affiliated with UNCG demonstrates how financial and other professionals can benefit from the interdisciplinary research and teaching expertise that the Gerontology Program has developed over the past five years,” said Dr. Janice Wassel, director of the Gerontology Program and a recipient of the RFG designation.
Financial gerontologists differ from other financial professionals in their knowledge of how the multiple processes of aging are inter-connected to health and wealth, family dynamics and to the social trends and demographics of the 21st century.
“The good news is that people are living longer,” said Dr. Neal Cutler, associate director of the Gerontology Program at UNCG and AIFG’s vice president for educational programs. “The challenge is that most Baby Boomers are unprepared for the financial consequences of caring for elderly parents and taking care of their children at the same time they are preparing for their own old age. Boomers typically underestimate how many years past the traditional age of retirement they will live and how much it will cost.”
“Financial gerontologists are trained to see beyond the numbers and to understand that from a financial perspective aging is a family issue,” Wassel said. “When a loved one goes into a nursing home, it’s not just a matter of how to pay for long-term care, it’s also an issue of how families are going to cope with the interplay of financial and emotional demands.”
The next four-day AIFG training program begins Wednesday, Jan. 24, at UNCG. For more information or to register, visit www.aifg.org.
The UNCG Gerontology Program offers three graduate degree programs, including a dual-degree MS in gerontology-MBA program with the Bryan School of Business and Economics. For more information, visit www.uncg.edu/gro.
