Taylor Brennan Leads Roundtable on Dementia and Finance at ASA 2026
by Adam Felts
AgeLab researcher Taylor Brennan attended the 2026 American Society on Aging conference as a co-leader of a roundtable session highlighting groundbreaking research on the financial toll of dementia.
Patskanick moderated the session alongside Julie Miller, Senior Director of Thought Leadership, Financial Resilience at AARP, and Elizabeth Clubb, CEO of myFloc, a financial caregiving technology startup.
The roundtable session highlighted recent research on the relationship between dementia and financial losses in later life. One study demonstrated that dementia and financial shocks are mutually reinforcing – that is, cognitive decline is a cause of negative wealth shocks in later life, and severe wealth shocks in older age can themselves be a trigger of cognitive decline.
Another study found that financial losses for persons with dementia begin occurring several years prior to a formal diagnosis. Follow-up research exploring this phenomenon suggests that impaired financial decision-making due to incipient cognitive decline is the primary cause of the losses, indicating that changes in financial behavior are one of the earliest signs and negative consequences of dementia.
The implications of these papers were explored in a recent AgeLab and AARP report.
The roundtable discussion, which included a diverse array of professionals in the field of aging, focused on the implications and translational value of this new research for financial professionals, medical experts, policymakers, and the public. How can older adults be better insulated from the negative impacts of wealth shocks in retirement? How can changes in financial behavior due to cognitive decline be identified and mitigated in a timely way?
In partnership with AARP, the AgeLab plans to conduct stakeholder interviews to develop strategies for the effective promulgation of the new research on wealth and dementia.
Further resources highlighting recent research on the financial toll of dementia can be found here.
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