To Reach Immigrants and Their Kids, Educate

Ruiz, who has written many books about Hispanic consumers and wealth, notes that Hispanic American consumers are 10 times less likely to hold individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401(k)s, annuities and life insurance than members of the general population.

“As far as a reason, what I’ve come up with over the years is Hispanics have never been taught how to accumulate net worth or wealth,” he says. “That wasn’t the priority of their parents or grandparents. It was just go to school, finish high school, hopefully go to college and to become a middle-income American.”

Moises J. Pineda, owner of MJP Insurance Strategies, Miami, says many Hispanic American consumers come from countries where medical and other types of insurance are provided to them at little or no cost. When they come to the U.S., they assume they will get the same coverage and, therefore, may not be aware of long-term financial solutions.

An example, Pineda says, is long-term care insurance (LTCI). “Many believe if something happens and they need that type of care that their health insurance or the government will cover them completely and that is not the case,” he says. “Even with an annuity, if not enough money is used to fund the account, they will not have the required cash to cover expenses and allow them to get medical help. An LTCI policy would be more beneficial.”

Of course, plenty of immigrants and children of immigrants, including those who are Hispanic American, know very well that they likely will have to fend for themselves when it comes to protecting their ability to choose what will happen if they end up needing long-term care. But, in some cases, those who have failed to prepare because of ignorance might prove to better prospects than those who have made an intentional, conscious decision to ignore the future.