Through the launch of its Office of Older Americans, the The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has placed a particular emphasis on its efforts to protect the senior population in financial markets, including the reverse mortgage market.
And it is continuing its dialogue with Congress and the markets it oversees in the coming months.
In laying out its upcoming plans toward this initiative, the bureau’s Office of Older Americans lead Skip Humphrey noted in a blog post this week an upcoming report to Congress and the Securities and Exchanges Commission the CFPB will present on certifications and designations used by financial professionals who work with older Americans. He also touted the agency’s efforts in the release of a reverse mortgage report to Congress in 2012.
“In the brief time since I started here at the CFPB, we have accomplished an amazing amount for older Americans,” Humphrey writes. “Among other things, we’ve…Increased the focus on issues affecting seniors, including in particular elder financial exploitation and diminished capacity for financial decision-making; helped the Bureau produce and publish a congressionally mandated study and report on reverse mortgages. To help people assess their own needs when making decisions about reverse mortgages, we produced an accompanying consumer guide.”
In the upcoming plans for the CFPB, the agency is planning for an additional report to Congress on financial professionals who use senior designations to express their areas of expertise.
Among the plans: “Recommendations and a report to Congress and the SEC regarding the use of senior certifications and designations by financial advisors to help ensure that seniors understand what these credentials mean when they’re seeking financial advice.”
“Our work will help to protect more seniors from the scams and financial abuse that steal their retirement and later life savings,” Humphrey says.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
