{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T15:53:08Z","timestamp":1786549988368,"version":"build-2736575974"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2013]]},"group-title":"SSRN","reference-count":53,"publisher":"Elsevier BV","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>The knowledge and reasoning ability needed to manage one's finances is a form of human capital. Alzheimer's disease and other dementias cause progressive declines in cognition that lead to a complete loss of functional capacities. In this paper we analyze the impact of information about cognitive decline on the choice of household financial decision-maker. Using longitudinal data on older married couples, we find that as the financial decision maker's cognition declines, the management of finances is eventually turned over to his cognitively intact spouse, often well after difficulties handling money have already emerged. However, a memory disease diagnosis increases the hazard of switching the financial respondent by over 200% for couples who control their retirement accounts (like 401ks) relative to those who passively receive retirement income. This is consistent with a model of the value of information: households with the most to gain financially from preparation are mos t responsive to information about cognitive decline.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.2339225","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,10,16]],"date-time":"2013-10-16T11:02:48Z","timestamp":1381921368000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Dementia Risk and Financial Decision Making by Older Households: The Impact of Information"],"prefix":"10.2139","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0715-6230","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Joanne W.","family":"Hsu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert J.","family":"Willis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"78","reference":[{"issue":"2","key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1353\/eca.0.0067","article-title":"The Age of Reason: Financial Decisions over the Life-Cycle and Implications for Regulation","author":"Sumit Agarwal","year":"2009","journal-title":"Brookings Papers on Economic Activity"},{"key":"ref2","volume":"7","year":"2011","journal-title":"Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures"},{"key":"ref3","journal-title":"Differentiating Normal Aging and Dementia"},{"issue":"2","key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1475-5890.2007.00052.x","article-title":"Understanding Pensions: Cognitive Function, Numerical Ability and Retirement Saving","volume":"28","author":"J Banks","year":"2007","journal-title":"Fiscal Studies"},{"issue":"548","key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"381","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-0297.2010.02395.x","article-title":"Cognitive Function, Numeracy and Retirement Saving Trajectories","volume":"120","author":"J Banks","year":"2010","journal-title":"The Economic Journal"},{"issue":"548","key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"363","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-0297.2010.02394.x","article-title":"Financial Decision Making and Cognition in a Family Context","volume":"120","author":"J P Smith","year":"2010","journal-title":"The Economic Journal"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4159\/9780674020665","author":"Gary Becker","year":"1991","journal-title":"A Treatise on the Family"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.675264","author":"D J Benjamin","year":"2006","journal-title":"Who Is 'Behavioral'? 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