Living with dementia

We aim to help Australians living with dementia remain financially independent for as long as possible and be less vulnerable to financial abuse. 

About dementia and financial management

There are over 447,000 Australians living with dementia today. As our population ages, this number is expected to grow to 1 million Australians by 2058.
 

We know that financial management is one of those extremely important areas where those living with dementia can experience great stress and anxiety. It can become hard to absorb information from banking staff or your financial advisor, and hard to stay in control of your money. Things that you found easy before – such as checking bank statements and paying bills – may become more difficult.
 

We also understand that coming into a busy bank branch can become stressful and confusing. We want to help our customers living with dementia to be able to manage their financial arrangements and remain independent for as long as possible. We also want to help protect these customers from financial abuse. 

Planning Ahead

Consider planning ahead so that your finances are easier to manage and so that in the longer term, decisions are made in line with your wishes and best interests.
 

We can help you do some simple things now to make it easier to manage your money and reduce the risk that you will miss payments in the future:
 

  • If you have more than one transaction account, consolidate these into one.
  • Reduce the number of credit cards you have. We can help you put plans in place to reduce debts or consolidate any debts you may have into a more simple, manageable payment.
  • If you have superannuation in more than one account, we can help you consolidate them into a single account*
     

Other things you can do:
 

  • Consider cancelling store cards or reducing the number you hold.
  • Put a list on your fridge of what your regular bills are and when they come in (e.g. phone monthly, electricity quarterly, rates annually). Put a 'tick' beside each bill once you've paid it.
  • Put unpaid bills on the fridge and take them down when they have been paid.
     

*Before requesting a rollover of your superannuation benefits, you should consider where your future employer contributions will be paid. If you wish to change the fund into which your employer contributions are being paid, you will need to contact your employer. You should also check with your other fund(s) to determine whether there are any exit or withdrawal fees for moving your benefit, or other loss of benefits (e.g. insurance cover). You may not receive the same type or level of benefits after the rollover and may lose any insurance entitlements you have in other fund(s).