Free Resources Available from CFPB’s Office for Older Americans

By Erin Scheithe, Content Specialist, CFPB

December 27, 2017
 

The CFPB’s Office for Older Americans works to improve financial security for people 62 and older. We have resources to help those who serve older adults and their financial caregivers.  We work on a mix of policy, research, and educational initiatives designed to help protect older consumers from financial harm and to help older Americans make sound decisions with their money as they age.

One of our office’s top priorities is addressing elder financial exploitation and abuse.  We create educational materials and programs to address the challenges older adults face, including planning for incapacity, preventing and protecting themselves from frauds and scams, and reporting financial abuse.  To that end, we’ve created a variety of resources designed to help financial caregivers, financial institutions, senior service providers, and the general public address elder financial fraud.

• Money Smart for Older Adults: a series of easy-to-follow lessons that anyone can lead to help older Americans and those who work with them prevent, recognize, and report a wide variety of financial frauds and scams.
• Managing Someone Else’s Money: plain language guides designed to help financial caregivers, those managing money or property for someoneunable to pay bills or make financial decisions.
• Consumer education placemats: educational placemats that are used by senior meal service providers and can be used by community or faith-based organizations, financial institutions, or other groups in a variety of ways.  We also created a companion resource with tips and information for reinforcing the messages on the placemats.
• Advisory and report for financial institutions on preventing and responding to elder financial exploitation: voluntary best practices to assist banks and credit unions with their efforts to prevent elder financial abuse and intervene effectively when it occurs.
• Report and Recommendations: Fighting Elder Financial Exploitation through Community Networks: recommendations to existing networks and key stakeholders to develop and enhance their community’s collaborative efforts to fight financial exploitation. Accompanyingthis report is a Resource Guide with promising practices, sample documents, and resource materials.

Visit consumerfinance.gov/olderamericans to download or order these publications in bulk or sign up for our e-mail newsletter.