This week, we’re talking about the most googled personal finance topics by state. I’ve picked out topics from search trend results by state that I think are most useful when it comes to planning your successful retirement.

Today’s most googled personal finance topic by state is Washington D.C. which ranked highest of all 50 states in searching for...wait for it...money laundering.

Seriously?! Our nation’s Capital and all the government workers in DC are searching for money laundering more than any other state. Frightening.

Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. It’s probably just a bunch of aids and interns trying to dig up dirt on the opposing side (cough: Trump). There are probably 100 full-time staffers in DC, whose lives are dedicated to trying to dismantle Trump, so I guess it’s not surprising after all.

All joking aside, a similar type of criminal act that you’ll want to pay attention to as it relates to your retirement is elder abuse. It’s very common in this country, and often family members are the primary abusers of the elderly. Yes, that’s right...family. If you take away nothing else from today’s tip, remember that.

So, as you face caring for aging parents and plan for your own retirement, I encourage you to pay attention to the signs of elder abuse: sudden and large increase in withdrawals from bank or investment accounts, or ATM cash withdrawals, additional names added onto bank accounts, and beneficiary changes in wills or retirement accounts.

Consider providing access to more than one person who can view account activity on bank or investment accounts, so there is more than one set of eyes on things. This can be set up with an interested 3rd party release or by establishing a trusted contact on an account that the financial institution can get in touch with if they see suspicious activity.

Banks and investment firms are taking more steps to protect against elder abuse, so look into ways you can protect yourself or your loved ones with additional protections on financial accounts.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! Tomorrow we’re going to talk about who is googling Roth IRAs and why you should consider investing in a Roth.

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, money laundering, washington dc money laundering, elder abuse, elder financial abuse