Subjective Cognitive Decline with Financial Interference: Associations with Money Management and Satisfaction in Older Adults

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) has been linked to a range of health outcomes, but little is known about its relationship to how older adults manage their money. This study extends SCD with financial interference (SCD-F), a brief, person-centered classification introduced in earlier work, to two money management outcomes in older adults: assistance with money management and satisfaction with current arrangements. Participants (n = 1392) completed an online survey through the Older Adult Nest Egg website and were classified as having no subjective memory complaint (SMC), an SMC only, or SCD-F. The groups differed in money management (χ2(4) = 70.00, p < 0.001) and satisfaction with their money management arrangement (χ2(4) = 100.84, p < 0.001). Participants with SCD-F more often received help managing their finances or had someone else manage them (42.09%) than those with an SMC only (24.47%) or no SMC (19.35%), and were less often satisfied (61.87% vs. 77.66% and 87.02%). Findings held after adjusting for age, gender, race, and education, supporting both hypotheses. These findings suggest that financial interference adds information beyond a general memory complaint. Future longitudinal studies with objective measures of financial capacity should test the direction of these associations.