Retirement savings account draw U.S. Consumer Bureau’s attention

When asked why he robbed banks, John Dillinger famously replied, "because that's where the money is." The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is thinking the same thing these days, but not about banks. Instead, they are concerned over the $19.4 trillion Americans have put into retirement savings, and how such a huge amount of money, conflated with the surge of Baby Boomers heading into retirement, might draw the attention of scam artists. As a result, the CFPB is weighing whether it should get involved in overseeing consumer investments from a consumer protection angle. The agency has not yet made a final decision, but only $3.5 trillion of total retirement savings is in 401(k)s, which suggests that Americans far prefer to make their own choices about retirement planning, which opens them up to a variety of poor advice and confidence schemes.