Mary Simmons
Financial abuse, particularly elder abuse will come under the microscope at the SMSF Association’s National Conference being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from February 19-21.
Association Head of Technical Mary Simmons said elder abuse, remains one of the most pressing yet underreported challenges in the superannuation sector, including SMSFs. With the Australian Human Rights Commission reporting that only one-third of older persons seek help when being abused, the time to foster greater awareness is now.
Recent findings from the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) report on financial abuse underscore its importance.
“Relationships Australia has stated that one in six older Australians have reported experiencing elder abuse in one year, with financial abuse the third most common form of abuse.”
The NSW Ageing and Disability Commission has noted that financial abuse is increasing, driven by factors such as the expected $3.5 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer occurring over the next two decades, an ageing population, and economic pressures on younger generations.
National Conference is a unique platform to foster industry-wide collaboration to promote best practices across the sector. Our program is designed to provide attendees with actionable strategies to identify and address financial abuse, whilst maintaining the highest ethical and professional standards.”
“For all these importance reasons we have three eminent lawyers providing their valuable insights on elder abuse to raise greater awareness within the SMSF sector.”
The speakers are:
- Pitcher Partners’ Anne Hacker will address a specialist-only session on Ensuring continuity: Managing SMSFs amid capacity challenges. It will delve into what elder abuse looks like, how to look out for it and how to minimise the potential impact on clients. For practitioners, it will highlight how to safeguard themselves against the risks of missing elder abuse and incapacity.
- HopgoodGanim Lawyers’ Rebecca Edwards will examine the topic Protecting the vulnerable: Elder assistance or abuse? It will focus on the delicate balance of ensuring the elder’s best interests while navigating complex family relationships. It will explore strategies for assessing capacity, identifying signs of undue influence or financial abuse, and ensuring that any help provided by family members remains within ethical and legal boundaries.
- Merthyr Law’s Kieran Hoare will tell SMSF war stories from the death bed, looking at challenges associated with death bed withdrawals, particularly the abuse of enduring powers of attorney and the rising trend of ‘inheritance impatience’.