Senior$afe Act Passed by House

On Tuesday, the House passed a bill for legislation that aims to help financial professionals reduce elder fraud by providing them safe harbor if the fraud is reported to state or Federal regulatory and law enforcement entities. The House passed the vote by voice on Tuesday. The bill specifically provides that banks, credit unions, investment advisers, broker-dealers and insurance companies and certain supervisory, compliance and legal employees would be protected from civil or administrative liability as long as these employees received training in how to spot and report predatory activity and disclose any possible exploitation of senior citizens to state or Federal regulatory law enforcement. The bill was introduced last year by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri). They are the chairman and ranking minority member, respectively, of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. It is based on legislation enacted in Maine. The bill has the support of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisers (NAIFA), the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), SIFMA and the North American Securities Administrator Association (NASAA). A 2011 study by MetLife found that seniors lose an estimated $2.9 billion each year to financial fraud.