Fair, equitable, and affordable financial products and services are essential to helping people and communities build and maintain wealth. The following principles build upon AARP’s Consumer Rights and Protection Principles to ensure that financial products and services are structured in a way that promotes financial resilience for all.
Create equitable and affordable access to high-quality financial products—the financial marketplace should provide access to high-quality financial products for all consumers, regardless of factors such as age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability level, family status, and income.
Protect against harmful practices—policymakers should protect against unfair, deceptive, or abusive financial products.
Evaluate ability to repay—loans should only be extended when the borrower can reasonably be expected to repay the debt while covering essential expenses, without refinancing or reborrowing.
Require clear and transparent terms—consumers should receive understandable, full, and accurate information about financial services products.
Safeguard against scams and fraud—governments and industry should prevent and prosecute fraudulent activity. Consumers’ information, accounts, and resources should be protected.
Provide accountability in sales practices—financial professionals providing financial advice to individuals should be ethical and transparent. Their recommendations and actions should be best for individual consumers, rather than their own interest or compensation, using a fiduciary standard.