Take-Aways from #AFCPE2023- Part I

 

One of the great features of the annual Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) Symposium is that AFCPE now makes video recordings of all of the breakout sessions and makes them available to attendees for a year. Gone are the days when you need to choose one session from among three topics of interest and miss the other two.

 

During the past eight months, I have slowly made my way through parts of the 2023 Symposium that I missed and was interested in, including a general session about poverty in America when my flight was abruptly moved up (without my consent) and I had to leave early. In this post and the next, I will provide a very eclectic summary of my key take-aways from the “rest of the Symposium”:

 

Poverty in America- One in nine (38 million) Americans live below the poverty line and one in eighteen live in “deep poverty.” Key reasons why poverty persists are the job market and housing market, which is brutal for poor people. Also, the U.S. does a poor job of connecting people to programs they need and it subsidizes affluence instead of poverty. Example: The amount provided by mortgage interest deductions is three times that of housing subsidies.

 

Veterans Benefits- Many military Veterans do not receive benefits earned for service to our country. The three top reasons why disability claims are denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are: 1. Not enough supporting medical evidence, 2. Failure to attend a scheduled medical exam, and 3. A disability is not connected to military service. No taxes are owed on VA disability compensation and Veterans can receive both VA and Social Security disability.

 

Financial Education- “Just in time” financial education that is tied to an upcoming decision or event is more effective than generic interventions. Other principles of effective financial education are 1. Knowing the target audience receiving services, 2. Providing actionable, relevant, and timely information, 3. Building on learners’ motivation, and 4. Making it easy for people to make good decisions and follow through on information and skills that they learn.

 

Family Caregivers- Caregiving can happen suddenly and caregivers can be caught off guard both emotionally and financially. Many caregivers have no idea what to expect and there are not a lot of institutional supports. Family caregivers spend, on average, $7,000 annually out of pocket. Additional opportunity costs include decreased work hours, passed up promotions, or leaving a job completely. One study estimated $304,000 in lost lifetime wages and benefits.

 

Financial Fraud- The top scam category in 2022 was imposter scams. Financial scam impacts are both financial and non-financial (e.g., PTSD, anxiety, depression). Scams often capitalize on unverifiable information and pressure people to make quick decisions. Protective factors against scams include prior experience with scams (experience is a great teacher), knowledge of scam methods (a benefit of financial education!) and bouncing ideas off of others for feedback. Social isolation, on the other hand, increases people’s vulnerability for fraud.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.