West STL News

Congresswoman Ann Wagner and Congressman Josh Gottheimer have reintroduced the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act in an effort to safeguard seniors from financial exploitation. This legislative measure seeks to address and mitigate the challenges faced by seniors who are particularly vulnerable to scams that can deplete their retirement savings.

“Seniors in our community can be particularly vulnerable to scammers and other bad actors seeking to take advantage of them. The last thing they need after a lifetime saving for retirement is for their hard-earned investments to be stolen from them, and that’s why I reintroduced the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act,” stated Congresswoman Wagner, who chairs the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets. She emphasized the need for the legislation to provide protections for seniors to ensure their accounts remain secure.

Congressman Gottheimer echoed these sentiments, highlighting the personal impact on families, including his own. “Millions of seniors across the country, including my own mother, have been the victims of financial scams, and far too many have been cheated out of their hard-earned retirement savings. It’s appalling, it’s offensive, and it’s unacceptable,” he said. Gottheimer, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee, spoke on the importance of equipping the financial industry with tools to combat senior fraud effectively.

The proposed act involves empowering regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer recommendations for legislative changes that could aid in preventing such exploitation. Additionally, it suggests allowing certain financial entities, such as mutual funds, to delay transactions if suspicious activity is detected, to protect those who cannot balance their interests independently.

As the senior population in the U.S. rises, with projections estimating that they will constitute 18% of the population by 2030, the risk of financial exploitation similarly increases. Currently, about 1 in 5 senior investors falls prey to financial fraud, resulting in estimated losses of $3.4 billion annually.