senior financial abuse

Come January 1, 2021, senior citizens in California will be afforded additional cancellation rights when entering into contracts negotiated or executed away from typical business establishments. AB-2471, which Governor Newsom signed into law at the end of September 2020, provides greater protections to senior citizens by extending from three to five business days the right of persons 65 years of age and older to cancel certain consumer contracts.… Continue Reading

On September 24, 2013, the CFPB joined the CFTC, the SEC, the FTC, the NCUA, and the prudential bank regulatory agencies (the Federal Reserve, the OCC, and the FDIC) in the issuance of an Interagency Guidance on Privacy Laws and Reporting Financial Abuse of Older Adults.  The release exempts from the strictures of the financial privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) the reporting of suspected financial abuse of the elderly to appropriate state, local, and federal agencies.… Continue Reading

According to media reports, CFPB Director Cordray has indicated that the Bureau is considering whether it should take on a role in helping consumers manage their retirement investments and looking at its authority in this area.   

The CFPB’s authority to deal with consumer investments is murky so we’re glad to see that Director Cordray appears to recognize the need for the CFPB to carefully examine its authority before moving into the investment arena.  … Continue Reading

The CFPB’s initiatives to address elder financial abuse were the focus of testimony last week by Hubert H. “Skip” Humphrey III, the CFPB’s Assistant Director for the Office of Older Americans, to the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging.  As we have previously commented, we consider helping consumers aged 62 and older to protect themselves from financial abuse and make sound financial decisions to be one of the CFPB’s most worthwhile Dodd-Frank mandates. … Continue Reading

One of the CFPB’s most worthwhile Dodd-Frank mandates is to help older Americans avoid financial exploitation.

 In addition to developing programs to provide financial literacy and counseling to seniors, the CFPB is taking steps to protect seniors from unethical financial advisors. Those steps
include (1) monitoring certifications that designate financial advisors as specially qualified to serve seniors and alerting the SEC or state regulators of certifications that are identified as unfair, deceptive or abusive, and (2) making legislative and regulatory recommendations to Congress on best practices for educating seniors on the legitimacy of advisor certifications and methods a senior can use to identify an appropriate financial advisor.… Continue Reading