Banking Industry and the New Senior Safe Act

The “Senior Safe Act,” part of a federal banking reform law that will modify Dodd-Frank, has been passed by both houses of Congress with bi-partisan support.  Note the sometimes clever spelling for “Safe” as “$afe,” used by proponents.  From a McKnight’s Senior Living report on  May 23, 2018:

A bipartisan bill intended to help protect older adults from financial exploitation and fraud is on its way to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

 

The Senior $afe Act, authored by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday as part of a bipartisan banking reform package after previously being passed by the Senate in March. President Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he plans to sign the legislation into law.

 

Collins and McCaskill had introduced the Senior $afe Act in 2017 when they were chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Collins still leads the committee, and McCaskill remains a member.

 

The legislation protects banks, credit unions, investment advisers, broker-dealers, insurance companies and insurance agencies from being sued for reporting suspected exploitation or fraud as long as they have trained their employees about how to identify the warning signs of common scams and make reports in good faith to the proper authorities.

 

“The Senior $afe Act, based on Maine’s innovative program, will empower and encourage our financial service representatives to identify warning signs of common scams and help prevent seniors from becoming victims,” Collins said in a statement.

 I’ll report more once I have a close look at the language, as enacted.