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A bipartisan proposal to combat elder financial abuse is getting attention in Congress.
The bill — the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act — would give the financial industry new ways to address suspected financial abuse of seniors or physically or mentally disabled individuals.
Older adults over age 60 lose an estimated $28.3 billion per year from criminal theft, according to a 2023 AARP report. Most of those losses — 72% — are perpetrated by someone they know, such as a family member, friend or caregiver, according to the report.
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On Wednesday, Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., reintroduced the bill to the Senate for the second time. The bill was previously introduced in the Senate in 2023.
A House version of the bill put forward in March, which was sponsored by Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., was unanimously approved by the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.
Both versions of the bill would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to report to Congress on ways to prevent financial exploitation of elderly and vulnerable adults through legislation and regulation.
The legislation would also allow certain financial institutions to delay transactions that raise suspicions of financial exploitation. Registered open-end investment companies or transfer agents for those companies, including mutual funds, would be able to delay the redemption period for any redeemable security transaction that raises suspicions of financial exploitation.
The House version of the bill passed the Financial Services Committee with a 50 to 0 vote. In a statement, Wagner said she looks forward to the whole House taking up the bill.