Financial planning classes help older people invest

Senior Center hosts three-part series of courses

By Joann Liao

As older citizens retire, they often face living on fixed incomes from retirement pensions and social security. Investing offers a way of maximizing that income.

With this in mind, the Sunnyvale and Cupertino Adult Education Program hosts classes at the Sunnyvale Senior Center to help seniors learn to invest their money.

The three-class course, called Life Financial Planning, provides instruction in stocks, mutual funds and estate planning. Each class has about 18 people.

Generally, senior citizens make up the majority of these classes, according to JoAnn Barney, coordinator of Older Adult Classes for Sunnyvale/Cupertino Adult Education. "They're trying to make wise choices on how to do investing," Barney said. "They're trying to plan for the future to help their children, and they're trying to plan for the present to help themselves."

According to the 1990 U.S. census data for Santa Clara County, almost 14 percent of 65- to 74-year-olds live on less than $10,000 a year. For those 75 and older, the percentage is even higher: 27 percent.

With these figures, it is not surprising that many older citizens are eager to learn how to invest their incomes. In Santa Clara County, almost 83 percent of all seniors do not receive Social Security income. Over 87 percent receive no retirement income at all, according to the data.

Learning to invest is something all age groups can begin to do, regardless of financial situation. According to Barney, the people who take these classes fall into many different situations. "These people [in the class] generally do have a bit of money to invest. Maybe some of them don't, but they want to make wise choices," Barney said.

The Sunnyvale Senior Center has been hosting the Life Financial Planning classes for many years, according to Sandy Yamanaka, leisure services coordinator at the center. "People participate in them and enjoy them," she said. "As long as we know that there's an interest out there, we try to provide it to the community."

Each class (stocks, mutual funds, and estate planning) has several sessions. For example, the first class on stocks consists of three two-hour sessions. The second session of the Mutual Funds class begins July 9. More information about the Life Financial Planning classes may be obtained from the Adult Education Catalogue, or by calling JoAnn Barney at 522-2712.

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