Chairman Rick Scott announced on Apr. 15 the release of a new bipartisan Financial Literacy Booklet for 2026 during a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing focused on empowering seniors through financial literacy. The hearing, held as part of National Financial Literacy and Social Security Month, examined how better education can help older Americans protect their savings, prevent fraud, and maintain independence.
The topic is significant as many seniors face complex decisions about retirement finances while being targeted by increasingly sophisticated scams. The committee aims to provide resources that support older adults in navigating these challenges.
Scott said the new resource guide, titled "Guarding Your Nest Egg: A Financial Resource Guide for Older Adults," will offer plain-language information on key topics such as Social Security, Medicare, housing, charitable giving, disaster preparedness, and scam prevention. “Because every older American in this country deserves the tools to protect what they spent a lifetime building. Not more red tape. Not more bureaucracy. Just clear information and the freedom to use it,” Scott said.
During his remarks, Scott highlighted ongoing efforts by the committee to combat fraud against seniors—including maintaining a toll-free fraud hotline and supporting legislation like the National Strategy for Combating Scams Act and GUARD Act—as well as holding hearings on related issues. In 2024 alone, nearly five billion dollars were lost by older Americans due to scams using advanced techniques such as artificial intelligence and voice cloning.
The Senate Aging Committee provides resources such as its fraud hotline to help protect seniors from exploitation according to its official website. The committee also maintains offices in both the Dirksen Senate Office Building (majority) and Hart Senate Office Building (minority) according to its official website.
According to its official website, the committee examines issues affecting older Americans including Social Security, Medicare, long-term care and retirement security through hearings and reports; it is chaired by Rick Scott with Kirsten Gillibrand serving as ranking member; oversight extends nationwide across all aging-related federal programs; regular hearings are held regarding federal programs like Medicare and elder abuse prevention.
