A new federal watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has set up a website that mentions retirement savings in passing and makes no direct reference to insurance or annuities.
The CFPB, an arm of the Federal Reserve Board created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protect Act, is supposed to oversee the dealings of banks and consumer finance companies with consumers.
The CFPB is not supposed to have any authority to regulate the insurance business, but it has a general financial education arm and arms that are supposed to help older Americans and members of the armed services, and it is possible that those arms could address topics such as income planning that are of interest to life insurers.
Even though the CFPB is part of the Federal Reserve Board, initial organizational support is coming from the U.S. Treasury Department, and Treasury officials announced the creation of the CFPB's website, at ConsumerFinance.gov.
CFPB officials note in an explanation of why the bureau was created that one reason is the effect of the recent recession on America's retirement savings.
One site feature is an interactive calendar showing the schedule of Elizabeth Warren, 
special advisor to the Treasury secretary on the CFPB.
Before Warren became famous for helping to oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program and lobby for the creation of the CFPB, Warren was known in the insurance community as the source of the idea that health problems may account for about half of U.S. bankruptcies.
In a "Get Help Now" section, the CFPB says a bureau Office of Financial Education will "coordinate programs relating to financial literacy and consumer education." The description of the office refers consumers to the government's MyMoney.gov site for more information.
In sections on investments and on "adults nearing or already enjoying retirement," the CFPB refers consumers to the consumer website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov.
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