HR 531 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To establish a grant program to enhance the financial and retirement literacy of mid-life and older Americans and to reduce financial abuse and fraud among such Americans, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

January 17, 2007

Mr. LYNCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and LaborCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To establish a grant program to enhance the financial and retirement literacy of mid-life and older Americans and to reduce financial abuse and fraud among such Americans, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Retirement Security Education Act of 2007'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Improving financial literacy is a critical and complex task for Americans of all ages.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Low levels of savings and high levels of personal and real estate debt are serious problems for many households nearing retirement. Personal savings rates have fallen to a dangerously low 2 percent.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Approximately half of working Americans have any form of pension coverage. Today, just 21 percent of workers have defined benefit coverage and just 27 percent of workers are enrolled in 401(k)s.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Because women have longer life expectancies, the number of poor older women is more than twice the number of poor older men. Studies have also found that there is a substantial gender gap in all sources of retirement income including Social Security, pensions, savings and earnings from post-retirement employment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) The more limited time frame that mid-life and older individuals and families have to assess the realities of their individual circumstances, to recover from counter-productive choices and decision-making processes, and to benefit from more informed financial practices, has immediate impact and near term consequences for Americans nearing or of retirement age.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) Research indicates that there are now 4 basic sources of retirement income security. Those sources are social security benefits, pensions and savings, healthcare insurance coverage, and, for an increasing number of older individuals, necessary earnings from working during `retirement' years.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) The Congressional Budget Office has found that about a quarter of baby-boomer households have so far failed to accumulate significant savings and that they appear likely to depend entirely on government benefits in retirement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) Over the next 30 years, the number of older individuals in the United States is expected to double, from 35,000,000 to nearly 75,000,000, and long-term care costs are expected to skyrocket.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) Over the next 25 years, the number of individuals over 65 years of age requiring long term care services is expected to double to approximately 12 million.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(10) Fraud against older individuals, including telemarketing schemes, predatory lending, identity theft and Internet fraud has risen dramatically.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO ENHANCE FINANCIAL AND RETIREMENT LITERACY AND REDUCE FINANCIAL ABUSE AND FRAUD AMONG MID-LIFE AND OLDER AMERICANS.

(a) Authority- The Secretary is authorized to award grants to eligible entities to provide financial education programs to mid-life and older individuals who reside in local communities in order to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) enhance and promote knowledge of financial issues, long-term care, and retirement issues among such individuals; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) reduce financial abuse and fraud, including telemarketing, mortgage, and pension fraud, among such individuals.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Eligible Entities- An entity is eligible to receive a grant under this section if such entity is--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) a State agency or area agency on aging; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) a non-profit organization organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code with a proven record of providing--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) services to mid-life and older individuals;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) consumer awareness programs; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) supportive services to low-income families.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Application- An eligible entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary in such form and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a plan for continuing the programs provided with grant funds under this section after the grant expires.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Limitation on Administrative Costs- A recipient of a grant under this section may not use more than 4 percent of the total amount of the grant in each fiscal year for the administrative costs of carrying out the programs provided with grant funds under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Evaluation and Report-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES- The Secretary shall develop measures to evaluate the programs provided with grant funds under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) EVALUATION ACCORDING TO PERFORMANCE MEASURES- Applying the performance measures developed under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall evaluate the programs provided with grant funds under this section in order to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) judge the performance and effectiveness of such programs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) identify which programs represent the best practices of entities developing such programs for mid-life and older individuals; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) identify which programs may be replicated.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) ANNUAL REPORTS- For each fiscal year in which a grant is awarded under this section, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress containing a description of the status of the grant program under this section, a description of the programs provided with grant funds under this section, and the results of the evaluation of such programs under paragraph (2).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. NATIONAL TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

(a) Authority- The Secretary is authorized to award a grant to 1 or more eligible entities to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) create and make available instructional materials and information that promote financial education; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) provide training and other related assistance regarding the establishment of financial education programs to eligible entities awarded a grant under section 3.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Eligible Entities- An entity is eligible to receive a grant under this section if such entity is a nonprofit organization organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code with substantial experience in the field of financial education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Application- An eligible entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary in such form and containing such information as the Secretary may require.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Basis and Term- The Secretary shall award a grant under this section on a competitive, merit basis.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that, in providing assistance under this Act, the Secretary should place a high priority on the provision of such assistance to organizations that have demonstrated experience in providing financial education to older women.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) AREA AGENCY ON AGING- The term `area agency on aging' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) FINANCIAL EDUCATION- The term `financial education' means education that promotes an understanding of consumer, economic, and personal finance concepts, including saving for retirement, long-term care, and estate planning and education on predatory lending, identity theft, and financial abuse schemes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) MID-LIFE INDIVIDUAL- The term `mid-life individual' means an individual aged 45 to 64 years.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) OLDER INDIVIDUAL- The term `older individual' means an individual aged 65 or older.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) STATE AGENCY- The term `State agency' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) Authorization- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act, $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Limitation on Funds for Evaluation and Report- The Secretary may use to carry out section 3(e) not more than $200,000 of the amount appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Limitation on Funds for Training and Technical Assistance- The Secretary shall use to carry out section 4 not less than 5 percent, and not more than 10 percent, of the amount appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink