There is a growing body of commentary in and around wealth management about cognitive decline, such as problems of dementia, but the UK adult population still hasn't prepared for it.

A survey of 2,000 UK adults by a law firm focused on wealthy clinets found that seven out of 10 of them fear the onset of dementia and other forms of cognitive decline as the years go by, but only a small majority of them have set out plans to deal with it.

The survey, carried out by Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, adds to a rising drumbeat of noise around the issues posed by Alzheimer's, dementia and other cognitive decline issues posed by the onset of old age - a considerable problem as populations age. And with significant chunks of wealth held by older citizens, the wealth management implications are large.

The survey showed that three quarters of people worry about getting old but eight out of 10 admit they have no idea what causes dementia and a further 40 per cent are unaware of any dementia symptoms.

It is believed that 850,000 people in the UK have dementia, and that is expected to rise to more than two million by 2051, the firm said in its report.

“The research shows that despite many people being concerned about aging and developing dementia, the vast majority haven’t done anything to prepare for their later life in the event they should suffer an illness or accident that affects their capacity," Stewart Stretton-Hill, a specialist lawyer who advises the elderly and vulnerable at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, said.

“Very few people have a lasting power of attorney in place but failing to do so can cause a legal headache over who should be making decisions in future because no one has an automatic right to make decisions for someone else. Family and friends may dispute who is best placed to make the big decisions about finances and potentially healthcare and the court of protection would need to be involved," he continued.

“An LPA gives an individual the right to manage the most personal aspects someone’s life. It is the most important of their life so it is essential to get it right," he said.

Rising concerns
The wealth management sector is beginning to make more noise around this issue. For example, Julius Baer, the Swiss private bank, recently spoke to this news service about the work it is doing to raise advisors' awareness and provide training. In the US, WE Family Offices, the wealth management group, has spoken about the need to make an understanding of the issue part of the advisor's competence. With trillion-figure sums due to be transferred by senior citizens to the next generation in coming years, issues around cognitive ability, legal protections and estate planning take on a sharper edge. (See an article on legal issues around cognitive decline here.)

Irwin Mitchell said its research also looked at the triggers in life at which people begin to feel old. The average adult starts to worry about getting old at the age of 40, with losing your keys and a receding hairline among the triggers for that concern. Other signs of getting older include temporarily forgetting a child’s name and using the phrase “When I was younger…”

And eight in 10 respondents admit to walking into a room and forgetting why they’d entered, with one in five saying it happens often, it said.

The survey was conducted to coincide with this year's Dementia Awareness Week, 15 – 20 May 2017, which is being held to encourage people who are worried about dementia to confront their worries by addressing dementia directly and talk to each other as well as seeking support from the Alzheimer's Society.

The law firm said it has trained 470 lawyers to become official "Dementia Friends" who are more aware of the issues facing those who develop the illness.