U.S. House Advances McCaskill's Bipartisan Bill to Protect Seniors from Financial Exploitation

Press Release

The U.S. House has advanced U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill's 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.

The legislation has cleared a key hurdle in passage by the House Financial Services Committee in a unanimous vote.

"Keeping Missouri's seniors safe from financial exploitation is a goal we can all get behind, and I'm glad this commonsense plan is moving forward with broad, bipartisan support," said McCaskill , a former courtroom prosecutor. "Financial professionals are the ones who can best identify and spot signs of fraud or abuse, so they ought to be able to safely and securely take steps to protect seniors and their life savings."

The Senior$afe Act, introduced by McCaskill and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, would provide immunity to banks, credit unions, broker-dealers and investment advisers who in good faith report potential 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 potential 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. According to the country's top watchdog, financial fraud targeting older Americans is a growing epidemic that costs seniors an estimated $2.9 billion annually.

McCaskill has long worked to protect seniors from fraud and scams, fight to lower the costs of prescription drugs and hearing aids, maintain access to health care services, and ensure that hardworking Missourians receive the retirement benefits they've been promised.

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