As the U.S. population ages, elder financial abuse is a growing problem. Lawmakers and the financial services industry have approved new laws and rules to safeguard seniors and their assets and protect financial professionals from liability for reporting exploitation.
In the past, many finance professionals were hesitant to report possible elder financial abuse to law enforcement or adult protective services due to concerns over violating privacy laws.
In 2018, Congress passed the Senior Safe Act, protecting financial services professionals from being sued over privacy and other violations for reporting suspected elder financial abuse. The law encourages financial institutions, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and insurance companies and agents to provide training for employees and reciprocates with legal protections for firms and staff.
Training and reporting details still need to be ironed out, and It’s not clear when the law will take effect.