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U.S.
Senator Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs
Committees |
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For Immediate
Release September 6, 2007 |
CONTACT:Stephanie Valencia – 202-228-3630 |
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WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, United States Senator Ken Salazar made the following statement at the Senate Special Committee on Aging examining unscrupulous marketing and sales tactics used by financial advisors to mislead elder Americans into purchasing costly financial investments. The hearing was entitled “Advising Seniors About Their Money: Who is Qualified-and Who is Not?” Recent news articles have highlighted the misleading tactics used by some financial advisors and at yesterday’s hearing the Aging Committee took its first steps to address these issues. “Americans spend more than half of their life working and saving for their retirement. Once seniors reach the age of retirement, they must choose from an extensive menu of complex investment products and strategies to best manage their money. Those who can afford it, hire a financial advisor, specialist, or agent to help them make well-informed choices. “Sadly, unsuspecting seniors risk losing their retirement savings to advisors or agents who are motivated by earning high commissions as opposed to securing their clients financial future. As a result, vulnerable seniors are losing the wealth and assets that they have spent a lifetime building. “Unfortunately, I witnessed fraud against seniors as Attorney General of Colorado. To address the issues that I saw in Colorado, I established the nationally unique AARP ElderWatch program to target the financial exploitation of our senior citizens. I also held a Statewide Senior Fraud Conference in 1999 resulting in a statewide senior financial fraud action plan for Colorado. We implemented key recommendations, such as prioritizing the prosecution of perpetrators of senior fraud, strengthening Colorado's civil and criminal laws to better protect seniors, and created an education program to help prevent senior fraud. “The number of retirees in the U.S. is growing. The information collected in this hearing is important to help identify the most effective policy solutions and consumer protections, and inform education and outreach efforts to seniors. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to address the most important issues affecting seniors. Thank you.”
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