Albury is among five locations hosting a pilot program to help older women gain the confidence to take control of their financial decisions.
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The Australian Shareholders’ Association will run two free workshops next month for women aged over 65 years to explain basic investment concepts and resources.
Association chief executive Judith Fox said the pilot program recognised older women often ended up solely responsible for their financial affairs owing to longer life expectancy or divorce.
“In a nutshell, more women will end up alone,” she said.
“Research also shows that often finance management has been very gendered, so couples split up tasks and often it’s the men who’ve managed the finances.
“Women have not been involved and then they’re going to inherit a financial plan or a self-managed super fund or an investment portfolio and not know what to do with it, so that leaves them vulnerable.”
Limited to 15 participants who attend sessions on September 6 and 13, the workshops will be led by financial adviser Felicity Cooper, of Cooper Wealth, and Griffith University lecturer Katherine Hunt.
Ms Fox said the program, funded by a Financial Literacy Australia grant, would demystify the jargon.
“If women find themselves inheriting money, one of the things that does concern us is that often the children step in and say, ‘It’s OK, Mum, I’ll do it’,” she said.
“The children themselves might not be competent or worse, we do know that elder financial abuse is on the rise, so this is also about protecting women, so that they can be the ones making decisions.”
- The registration brochure can be downloaded from the Australian Shareholders’ Association website
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