Managing finances for people with dementia

How to recognise if someone is struggling

The person may find it hard to admit that they are struggling with managing their finances and be reluctant to ask for help. This is understandable. Managing your own money is part of being independent and it can be hard to accept when this starts to change.

But as someone close to the person you may notice that bills have not been paid or things have been bought that are not needed. Or the person may not be buying things they do need, such as food.  

You may notice spending patterns that are out of character for the person, such as giving money away to people or causes they haven’t given to before. Or they might be scammed, perhaps more than once. We can all fall for scams but people with dementia can be particularly vulnerable to them.  

It can be hard for people close to someone with dementia to know when and how to help. But gently trying to discuss whether the person would like some help is often a good starting point.

Why might they be struggling to manage their money

If you are worried about the person’s ability to manage their finances, it may help to work out what's causing their difficulty. Given the right information and support, someone may be able to continue to manage their own finances for longer.

For example, some people with dementia may have difficulty remembering PIN numbers. An alternative could be a ‘chip and signature’ card. The person with dementia only has to provide a signature and does not have to remember any numbers. The card could also allow contactless payments. 

You could also encourage the person to set up direct debits for bills so that they don’t have to worry about arranging and remembering payments.

If repeat or impulsive spending is an issue, the person could think about asking their bank to set spending limits on their cards.

The person can always talk to their bank to see what support they can offer. Banking regulations say that banks have to think about customers who need extra help. Some banks have special teams for this.

Having information presented to them in a clear, accessible way by the bank (or by you) might help the person to understand things better. 

Offering more formal financial support 

If the person agrees, there are a number of more hands-on ways you can support them with their money management. 

The person must have mental capacity to set up any of the below and it must be their choice, not yours.

• Third party mandate - allowing a trusted party to access someone's bank account. This is only valid while the person has mental capacity to manage their account.
• Carer’s cards - a debit card which gives limited access to someone's money. This is also only valid while the person has mental capacity to manage their account. 
• Joint bank accounts - allowing each account holder to make payments and withdraw money independently, though some accounts need both parties to approve transactions.
• Lasting or Enduring power of attorney - gives the attorney power to manage the person’s money and other property. This can be used when the person no longer has mental capacity to manage their money.  
• Appointee - someone to manage a person’s benefits for them if they lack mental capacity to do that themselves.

You can learn more about all of these options here, in our advice for people with dementia who are looking at their options for support with managing their money.

Learn more about these types of support

If the person loses mental capacity to manage their finances and has not made a Lasting power of attorney or an Enduring power of attorney, you or someone else may wish to apply to the Court of Protection to become a deputy for them. 

If you are in Northern Ireland you would apply to the Office of Care and Protection to become a controller. It may be that this has to be done to access the person’s money, for example to pay for care. If there is no one able or willing to be a deputy or controller the local authority may take on that role.    

What if the person can manage some things and not others?

For some people, it might be only some financial decisions that they struggle with. Often people with dementia can continue with day-to-day finances, such as paying for shopping, but may have difficulty with more complex decisions. For example, the person may find it difficult to change their gas supplier or make choices about investments.

In these situations, consider the least restrictive way of helping them.

If they have set up a Lasting or Enduring Power of Attorney, depending on how it is set up it may be possible to use it even for decisions they can make themselves (so long as they agree). This can be a useful way of providing extra support.

The power could be used to manage only the more complex decisions, and leave the person to manage their day-to-day finances themselves. 

Always involve the person if you can

Even if you have a legal power you should always try to keep the person involved in what is happening with their money. It is still their money. If you or someone else are managing it for them you have to act in their best interests, which includes taking account of their own wishes (past and present).