The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched a new financial resource tool, Money Smart for Older Adults, to help older adults and their caregivers prevent elder financial exploitation across the country. The newest addition to the FDIC's Money Smart financial curriculum family, this stand-alone training module developed by both agencies provides information to raise awareness among older adults (age 62 and older) and their caregivers on how to prevent, identify and respond to elder financial exploitation, plan for a secure financial future, and make informed financial decisions. The instructor-led module offers practical information that can be implemented immediately. Money Smart for Older Adults is designed to be delivered to older adults and their caregivers by representative of financial institutions, adult protective service agencies, senior advocacy organizations, law enforcement, and others that serve this population.
"Each year millions of senior citizens are targeted for financial exploitation," said FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg. "Building on the success of the FDIC's Money Smart curriculum, this program will provide a new resource to help older adults avoid being victims of this type of elder abuse."
"Older Americans are vulnerable to financial exploitation," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "By working together with the FDIC on Money Smart for Older Adults, we will be better able to educate and empower seniors to avoid being victimized. We also will provide excellent new resources to the caretaker generation of people like myself, to be better able to protect an elderly parent against such abuses."
