Adviser says fun as well as finances important to seniors
He’s spent a good 35 years of his life advising his fellow Romans on how they could best manage their finances and business ventures — but one of his most important bits of advice for seniors is to laugh and enjoy life. In 2007, when Robert E. Rudert officially retired he realized that it was time for him to focus on what had always meant the most to him as an accountant — advising older clients who might otherwise not have anywhere to go.
“In the entirety of my career I have always enjoyed most working with the more senior customers at my firms,” Rudert laughed. He set up Rudert Senior Advisory and Consulting Services LLC and offers consultations for things like choosing and paying for a caregiver, retirement and finance planning in relation to seniors as well as long-term care planning and insurance solutions.
“I work in my office here every day. My wife works as a tutor out of our home. We like to keep busy,” Rudert explained. “Having a loose schedule has allowed us to do a great deal of traveling — most recently to see Crater Lake with a beautiful blanket of snow around it.”
While Rudert himself is enjoying retirement with his wife Sally, a retired Darlington educator, he says he does not plan on slowing down anytime soon.
“In addition to running my private firm I am also the Senior Promotion Council chairman for the Rome area,” Rudert said.
Some of the other services the council provides include Pull At your Heart, Santa for Seniors and the yearly Senior Inforum that takes place in Armuchee drawing anywhere from 500-600 attendees.
“Pull at your Heart is a program where we place bins around town to collect incontinent supplies for seniors that may not be able to afford what they need,” Rudert explained. They keep supplies for those who need them.
“Equally important is the Santa for Senior program we do with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office,” Rudert said. “We take names year-round of senior adults who may not have any family here for them at Christmas and we visit them and take them gifts. It is not based at all on financial need — it’s based instead on social need. No one should be alone on Christmas.”
As we have moved into this more modern era with people living longer, older adults are often forgotten.
“In other cultures, the elderly are revered for their wisdom,” Rudert explained. “It seems like in America people are more apt to want to ‘put them somewhere’ rather than take care of them at home. Therefore, long-term care planning is so important for senior adults today.” His work focuses a lot on educating those who are retiring or have retired on planning ahead for their future and being prepared for all the things that may come. Contributed photo
Robert E. Rudert set up Rudert Senior Advisory and Consulting Services LLC to offer consultations to help with paying for a caregiver, retirement and finance planning in relation to seniors.
financially,” Rudert explained. “They give their son or daughter a power of attorney to handle their affairs and that family member empties their bank account leaving them completely ruined. It is a sad situation.”
Rudert said that other cases of elder abuse come from caregivers or neighbors stealing financial information or from scam callers convincing the elderly that they need to send money to a family member because they are in danger or were arrested.
“There have even been cases of people receiving a call that they have won the lottery and have to send a handling fee for the money to come to them,” Rudert said. “They give them their debit information and their finances are harmed.”