June 1, 2018
Securities and Exchange Commission
To the and Exchange Commission,
for the last 7 years i have been a volunteer tax preparer in the taxaide program sponsored in our area by aarp. we provide our services free of charge to the elderly & low income. every year i have a couple of clients...usually older single WOMEN who have been taken advantage of by nefarious brokers & "investment professionals."
i see everything from churning (already illegal but still done) to a really bad story this year.
a woman diagnosed with a very deadly cancer decided to get all her finances together here. she still had an IRA in texas. she made the mistake of going to wells fargo. (we know how honest they are!) WFA had her transfer her IRA (ALL OF IT) to them for investment. needless to say, she had a several thousand dollar tax bill, and investments so complicated she could not explain them to me. they had of course charged her for this service.
another client, again older single woman, had been talked into cashing in an annuity and then sold another one. how many $100 did the broker make off that do you suppose?
someday probably not too soon i'm going to be dealing with dementia & i am terrified that my husband...who doesn't have a head for this...may get taken advantage of too. or maybe even myself if i don't give up the reins. i am 71. it won't be long.
I'm counting on you to make a stronger rule that closes the loophole.
Americans who've worked hard to save for retirement deserve peace of mind about their financial security.
and there needs to be a direct line to report this info to an agency who will DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
thank you.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Barbara Hosmer