About the project

Our goal is to inspire aging adults to plan ahead. Development of the Thinking Ahead Roadmap was supported by a generous grant from AARP with foundational research sponsored by the Society of Actuaries.

This free resource was informed by:

27 in-depth interviews with elder law attorneys, financial advisors, geriatric health professionals, older adults, and caregivers of older adults.

It was also guided by four focus groups interviews with adults from diverse race, ethnic, and income backgrounds; and a 2-week online forum where more than 120 older adults shared their personal stories and perspectives on advance financial care planning.

Click here to read the SOA report on the early research that informed the Thinking Ahead Roadmap.

We continue to invite feedback with the goal to make the Thinking Ahead Roadmap more valuable, accessible and empowering.

People behind the Thinking Ahead Roadmap

About the team

Marti DeLiema is a gerontologist and research assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. Dr. DeLiema's mission is to find solutions to help people achieve financial security in old age through research on advance planning and fraud and scam prevention. She collaborates with federal agencies and non-profit organizations to develop and test interventions to help keep seniors' money safe.

Naomi Karp is a lawyer whose career has focused on improving later life for older adults. In her work for large non-profit organizations and the federal government, she has engaged in research, policy formulation and advocacy on health care, long term services and supports, financial exploitation, advance planning and consumer protection. Currently she is an independent consultant on law and aging working with government agencies and non-profit organizations.

Steve Vernon is president of Rest-of-Life Communications, where he uses his actuarial expertise and experience to address the series of critical decisions and issues facing older workers and retirees throughout the rest of their lives. He has published seven books on retirement planning and has written more than 1,000 posts on retirement topics for CBS MoneyWatch and Forbes.com.

Mingyang Zheng is a doctoral candidate in the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. His research focuses on long-term services and supports, mental health among older adults, and program evaluation and assessment.