Senior$afe: Protecting Financial Institutions That Report Suspected Exploitation of Seniors (H.R. 4538)

What is H.R. 4538?

(Updated August 2, 2017)

The Senior$afe Act aims to help identify, report and prevent the financial abuse of senior citizens. It would ensure that banks, credit unions, investment advisors, broker-dealers and their employees cannot be sued for reporting potential financial exploitation of a senior, as long as the disclosure is made “in good faith and with reasonable care.”

In order to qualify for protection, the employee making the report must have received training on how to spot and report exploitation of senior citizens. The report must be made to a regulatory agency, law enforcement agency, or adult protective services agency.

The bill also encourages financial institutions to provide training on reporting exploitation to supervisors, compliance officers, and legal advisors who come into contact with senior citizens or review their financial documents and transactions.

Argument in favor

This bill protects America’s seniors from financial exploitation. Financial institutions and their employees should be trained and encouraged to report suspected abuse.

Argument opposed

Financial institutions and their employees should be held liable for making false reports of suspected financial abuse, even if the report is made in good faith.

Impact

Financial institutions and their employees, senior citizens who may be financially exploited, people accused of financial exploitation, agencies responsible for fielding reports of financial abuse

Cost of H.R. 4538

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In Depth: Financial fraud affects about 20 percent of senior investors and robbed American senior citizens of an estimated $2.9 billion in 2010. These scams are frequently perpetrated by someone the senior knows well, and many cases go unreported.

Of Note: Sponsoring Rep. Bruce Poliquin said in a press release:

“The seniors in our 2nd District have worked their whole lives to build their savings. It is absolutely unacceptable and deplorable for their hard-earned investments to be so egregiously abused by predatory criminals.”

Media:

• Cosponsoring Rep. Bruce Poliquin Press Release

• NextAvenue.org

• Think Advisor

• Arizona Business Daily

Summary by Katie Rose Quandt

(Image Credit: Steven Depolo/ Flickr )