Bill Combatting Financial Exploitation of Seniors Gains Momentum

Press Release

The Senior$afe Act--bipartisan legislation that would allow financial institutions to report suspected exploitive or fraudulent activity to authorities when they notice unusual activity in the accounts of their clients over the age of 65--has recently attracted support from across the political spectrum and business community. The Senior$afe Act was introduced by Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who together lead the Senate Aging Committee.

Since the bill's introduction, it has received the support of Republican Sens. Tom Cotton, Dean Heller, Kelly Ayotte and Mark Kirk, along with Democratic and Independent Sens. Angus King, Joe Donnelly, Patty Murray, Barbara Mikulski, Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken and Tim Kaine. Additionally, it has been endorsed by the Financial Services Institute, North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc., Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Edward Jones, Credit Union National Association, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

"I am pleased that bipartisan support for the Senior$afe Act continues to grow," said Senator Collins. "Protecting seniors from financial exploitation and fraud is one of the top priorities of the Aging Committee. Putting an end to these pernicious scams will require regulators, law enforcement, and social service agencies at all levels of government to work collaboratively with the private sector. Our legislation, based on Maine's innovative Senior$afe program, will empower and encourage our financial service representatives to identify warning signs of common scams and help stop financial fraud targeting our seniors."

"I'm thrilled to have the support of so many of my colleagues and those in the financial community who want to protect their customers. Right now we've got financial professionals who feel certain some of their retired clients are being defrauded or taken advantage of, and in many instances they feel like they can't do a thing about it," said McCaskill, a former courtroom prosecutor. "This bill protects the privacy of America's seniors, while taking commonsense steps to prevent them from being the victims of scammers or those who are acting against their best interests."

The Senior$afe Act would provide immunity to banks, credit unions, broker-dealers and investment advisers who in good faith report suspected incidences of exploitation of a senior to state or federal financial regulatory agencies, law enforcement agencies and/or a state's adult protective services agency. To qualify for immunity, the financial professionals raising these red flags would be required to undergo training to identify suspected financial exploitation.

Under current law, some banks have expressed concern that they could be violating their clients' privacy rights and therefore be susceptible to administrative or civil liability for sharing information.

Senators Collins and McCaskill lead the Special Committee on Aging, which has jurisdiction to study and highlight issues of special interest to older Americans

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