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Press Release: Missouri public employees now safe from pension advances House Bill 1217 goes into effect, marking a huge win for consumers

 

 

For immediate release:

August 28, 2014

 

Contact:

Meghan Lewis

(573) 526-6024

meghan.lewis@treasurer.mo.gov

facebook.com/MOTreasurer

@MOTreasurer

 

 

A media kit with head shot and biography is available at: www.treasurer.mo.gov/MediaToolKit.aspx.

Missouri public employees now safe from pension advances

House Bill 1217 goes into effect, marking a huge win for consumers

 

JEFFERSON CITY – State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) announced House Bill 1217 goes into effect today, meaning public retirees in Missouri are now protected from the predatory lending practice known as pension advances. Retired public employees who are drawn into these misleading agreements can now take legal action against the businesses offering them. This measure is just one step Treasurer Zweifel is taking to protect working Missourians’ retirement security.

 

“Pension advances prey on the financially vulnerable, offering an up-front lump sum in exchange for part or all of a public pension, and they are generally accompanied by exorbitant fees and interest rates,” Treasurer Zweifel said. “Pension advances are essentially payday loans on steroids in that the individuals taking them are borrowing against a pension instead of a paycheck. They put the individual’s retirement in jeopardy and cost them more money in the long run. Today marks a big win for consumer protection in Missouri, and I am proud of the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who helped me make our state the first in the nation to ban this practice.”

 

With this law now in effect, State Attorney General Chris Koster has the authority to investigate and prosecute companies that continue to push these offers onto Missourians. Furthermore, starting today any individual who falls victim to pension advance schemes is entitled to reclaim any money lost in a pension advance transaction.

 

“I commend Treasurer Zweifel for his leadership on this important issue. Missouri’s public servants should never be taken advantage of in their retirement years,” said Attorney General Koster. “Missourians who have encountered a pension advance scheme should contact my Consumer Protection Division, which stands ready to enforce the provisions of this new law.”

 

If you enter in to a pension advance and would like to seek legal action against the business, contact Attorney General Koster’s Consumer Protection Division at (800) 392-8222 or file a complaint online at www.consumer.ago.mo.gov.

 

The pension advance issue received national attention over the summer, including a number of articles and consumer alerts from the FTC and GAO. Treasurer Zweifel is working with other state treasurers, lawmakers and financial officers around the country to prevent shady lending companies from preying on the vulnerable.

 

Treasurer Zweifel remains committed to driving pension advance companies and questionable short-term lenders out of Missouri. Anyone who has been targeted by these businesses should share their information through Treasurer Zweifel’s Pension Advance Portal at treasurer.mo.gov.

 

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Meghan Lewis

Office of State Treasurer Clint Zweifel

Director of Communications

Missouri State Capitol, Room 229

P.O. Box 210

Jefferson City, Missouri 65102

 

(573) 289-3673 (cell)

(573) 526-6024 (office)

(573) 751-9443 (fax)

twitter.com/megmlewis