Pension Advance Transactions: Questionable Business Practices and the Federal Response

Abstract

Recent questions have been raised about companies attempting to take advantage of retirees using pension advances. In June 2014, GAO issued are port on pension advances. The report (1) described the number and characteristics of pension advance companies and marketing practices;(2) evaluated how pension advance terms compare with those of other products; and (3) evaluated the extent to which there is federal oversight. This testimony summarizes GAOs June 2014 report (GAO-14-420) and actions taken by CFPB and FTC in response to GAOs recommendations. In June 2014, GAO identified 38pension advance companies and related marketing practices. GAO conducted a detailed nongeneralizable assessment of 19 of these companies. GAO used undercover investigative phone calls to identify additional marketing practices and obtain pension advance offers. This information was compared with the terms of other financial products, such as personal loans. GAO also examined the role of selected federal agencies with oversight of consumer protection and pension issues.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2015
Accession Number
AD1168300

Entities

People

  • Stephen M. Lord

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accountability
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Consumers
  • Education
  • Electronic Mail
  • Federal Law
  • Governments
  • Law
  • Local Governments
  • National Governments
  • New York
  • Personnel Management
  • Security
  • Social Media
  • United States
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Business

Readers

  • Economics
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.