CFP Board Urges Senate to Pass Bill to Protect Seniors

You may be encouraged to know that the U.S. House of Representatives, regardless of their political party, can still rally behind a noble cause.  The Financial Exploitation Prevention Act passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 419 to 0 and now awaits action by the Senate.

How exactly would the Act benefit seniors?  According to the bill’s sponsor “The Financial Exploitation Prevention Act will provide our vulnerable investors with an important layer of protection to help make sure that they receive the hard-earned savings that they have built up over the years…Financial exploitation of seniors is elder abuse and, tragically, about 20 percent of senior investors fall prey to financial fraud, losing an estimated $2.9 billion annually.”

Under the Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission would be charged to develop and recommend legislative and regulatory changes to grant more authority to a registered open-end investment company or transfer agent to delay redemptions“…if it was reasonably believed that such redemption was requested through the financial exploitation of a senior security holder or an individual unable to protect their own interests.”

Here's a quick summary of two key constituencies that would be protected;

• A senior security holder is anyone age 65 or older, and
• An individual unable to protect their interests is anyone age 18 or more that lacks the capacity to make informed financial decisions.

CFP Board joined with the Financial Planning Association, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, and eight other respected financial organizations to urge the U.S. Senate to support the Act. Click here to see CFP Board’s letter to the Senate.  For those of you who want to express your support to your Senator, the Senate designation for the act is S. 1481. Contact information for your senators is found at https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm