Congress wants states to beef up oversight of firms that sell annuities to seniors. The plan: Cash grants to states that go along.
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- Congress wants to help protect seniors who buy complex investment products that they don't understand or may do more harm than good.
States could get as much as $500,000 apiece to investigate and prosecute fraud against seniors, but only if they agree to strengthen their laws to match national consumer protection standards.
As the financial crisis has wreaked havoc on nest eggs, more retirees have turned to annuities and other life insurance products as alternatives to stocks.
Stronger oversight
State and federal officials have already started looking into how they can strengthen oversight of annuities, but regulation is patchwork state by state.
The House Financial Services Committee approved a version of the legislation earlier this month, and the Senate will start considering it later this week. 
