雙語朗讀美文：如何讓母親晚年無憂

摘錄：女人們都不喜歡提問，但是她們確實應該多問問題。

This Mother's Day, give your mom something that will help her sleep better at night. Women live about five years longer than men, on average, so chances are your mom will be winding down her golden years solo. Here are some steps you can take to help safeguard her finances and give both of you peace of mind:

Inform: 'First, everybody should know what assets they have and how they're titled,' says Roberta Anderson, senior vice president, private banking at People's United Bank in Greenwich, Conn. There is a generational divide here, she says: Younger women are more likely up to speed than those in their 80s and 90s.

在這個母親節，送給母親一些能讓她晚上睡得更踏實的禮物吧!平均來說，女性比男性的壽命長約五年，所以你的母親很可能會獨自度過一段金色的晚年時光。下文爲你提供了一些在財務上保護她的方法，讓你們都能獲得內心的平靜。

If your mom isn't accustomed to doing so, encourage her to attend meetings with any financial, tax or estate-planning advisers. If she's already a widow or her husband is ailing, have her bring along a trusted friend or relative, says Ms. Anderson. And encourage her to be an active participant. No matter their age, 'women don't tend to ask the questions, and they should,' Ms. Anderson says.

告知：“首先，每個人都應該瞭解他們擁有哪些資產以及有哪些權利，”羅貝塔?安德森(Roberta Anderson)說。安德森是銀行People's United Bank私人銀行部門的高級副總裁，該銀行總部位於康涅狄格州格林威治市。她說，在這一問題上，不同年齡的人差異很大：相較於那些八九十歲的女性，年紀更輕的女性或許更能掌握資產的狀況。

如果你的母親並不習慣於這麼做，請你鼓勵她與財務顧問、稅務顧問或者是不動產規劃顧問進行面談。安德森表示，如果她的丈夫已經去世或身體不適，請讓她帶一位值得信賴的朋友或親屬一起前往。也請鼓勵她做一位積極的參與者。無論年齡高低，“女人們都不喜歡提問，但是她們確實應該多問問題，”安德森稱。

Pay especially close attention to beneficiary designations on retirement accounts. These supersede the will. So if a husband's ex-wife is still listed as the beneficiary of his 401(k) account--a common oversight--his widow will be out of luck.

對於退休賬戶受益人的指定應特別留神。它們優於遺囑的效力。因此，如果某位丈夫的前妻仍被列爲他401(k)退休賬戶的受益人(這種疏忽非常常見)，這對於他的遺孀來說可是個壞消息。

Social Security benefits, too, warrant careful planning. Couples should almost always maximize the higher of their two benefits--often the husband's--by deferring the start of that benefit for as long as possible. This increases the payout for the couple, but especially for the surviving spouse--often the wife--whose benefit will be based on the higher amount.

社會保障福利也同樣有必要進行仔細的規劃。夫妻應該總是最大限度地利用倆人較高的那份福利金，這份福利金通常是丈夫的，夫妻應該儘可能地延遲申領這份福利金的起始時間。這會提高夫妻所領取的福利金的金額，特別對一方去世後的另一方(往往是妻子)尤其有利，因爲尚存配偶的領取金額取決於較高的那份福利金。

If your mom is vulnerable to financial abuse, whether due to 'naiveté, confusion, or actual dementia,' inform her what the risks are and teach her to ignore emails, phone calls and mail from unfamiliar sources, says Michael Schulman, an accountant and financial planner in New York.

來自紐約的會計師、理財規劃師邁克爾?舒爾曼(Michael Schulman)表示，不管是因爲“單純、困惑還是老年癡呆”之中的哪個原因，如果你的母親容易受到財務欺詐，那麼你必須要告知她風險所在並教她不要理會陌生的電子郵件、電話和信件。

'When my dad died, I explained to my mom, 'Don't respond to emails, period,' ' says Mr. Schulman, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants elder-planning task force.

舒爾曼表示：“在我父親過世後，我向母親解釋，‘一句話，不要回覆電子郵件。’”舒爾曼是美國註冊會計師協會(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)老年規劃工作組的成員。

Insulate: 'At some point there's going to be leakage in the system,' he adds. Insulate your mom to the extent possible, he says. Help her automate her incoming and outgoing funds with direct deposit (Social Security payments already arrive this way) and, if she's computer-literate, online bill paying.

隔絕：“在某些時候，系統中會出現漏洞，”他又說。把你母親和外界潛在的危險因素隔絕開，他說。通過直接存款(社會保障福利的付款已經可以自動到帳了)，幫助母親實現進賬和出賬的自動化，另外，如果你母親會使用電腦，你還可以教她在網上繳付賬單。

Ms. Anderson, trustee of her widowed, 90-year-old mother's revocable trust, set up small checking and credit-card accounts that her mom can tap for incidentals--'at-risk money,' Ms. Anderson calls it.

安德森是她90歲寡居母親可撤消信託的受託人，她設置了小額支票賬戶和信用卡賬戶作爲母親可以動用的零花錢。安德森將這筆錢稱作“風險資金”。

How at-risk? The other day, Ms. Anderson visited her mom at her upscale continuing-care retirement community. 'She was sitting on her couch in a pile of sweaters,' Ms. Anderson says.

何來“風險”之說?一天，安德森到母親居住的高檔持續關懷退休社區看望她。安德森稱：“我母親坐在沙發上，身邊堆滿了毛衣。”

The facility had invited a vendor in for the day, and Ms. Anderson's mother ended up charging $600 worth of sweaters to her credit card. 'I think I may have bought too much,' she confessed to her daughter. 'Yes, I think you did,' replied Ms. Anderson. The vendor has refused to take back the sweaters. Ms. Anderson plans to lower her mom's credit-card limit to $500. (She also plans to complain to the facility.)

Interact: 'As your mom gets less and less competent, you get more and more involved,' says Mr. Schulman, who regularly reviews his mother's account statements even though she still lives independently in another state. Be alert to unusual account activity or to new joint-account holders. These might include new 'friends' or distant--or not-so-distant--relatives.

養老機構當天邀請來一位商人，結果安德森的母親就用信用卡買了總共價值600美元的毛衣。安德森的母親向女兒懺悔道：“我可能是買的太多了。”安德森回答道：“是的，你的確是買多了。”這位商人拒絕接受退貨。安德森計劃將母親的信用卡額度下調至500美元。(她還打算向母親的養老機構投訴此事。)

互動：舒爾曼表示：“隨着母親的能力越來越弱，你的參與度應該越來越高。”舒爾曼會定期檢查他母親的銀行對賬單，儘管他母親仍然獨立地居住在另外一個州。要警惕異常的賬戶活動或新的聯名賬戶持有人。這些人可能包括新“朋友”、遠房親戚或者“關係不那麼遠的”親戚。

'Joint assets are a big red flag,' says Patricia R. Beauregard, a lawyer at Pullman & Comley in Bridgeport, Conn. In one case, a brother taking care of his incapacitated, widowed sister 'was also helping himself to her money on a pretty regular basis,' she says. He had made himself a joint account owner, engineered excess distributions from her retirement plans, and steered those into the joint accounts.

Ms. Beauregard says it's a good idea to pay care givers--even family members--for their time so they don't grow resentful and start stealing.

帕特里夏?R?博勒加德(Patricia R. Beauregard)表示：“聯名資產是一個大的危險信號。”博勒加德是康涅狄格州布里奇波特市Pullman & Comley律師事務所的律師。她說，在一個案件中，一位照顧傷殘寡居姐姐的弟弟“同時也一直在非常頻繁地幫自己獲取姐姐的錢財。”他將自己設置成了賬戶聯名人，爲姐姐的退休計劃申請了超額支取，並將這筆錢打到了聯名賬戶中。

博勒加德表示，向照顧自己的人(即使是家人)支付酬勞是個不錯的主意，這樣他們就不會心有不甘並開始偷竊了。

If your mom is still insurable, consider getting her a long-term care insurance policy. That, quips Ms. Beauregard, or a younger man.

如果你的母親還可以投保，請考慮爲她購買一份長期護理保險。博勒加德開玩笑說，或者一個比她年輕的男士。