The Financial Regulator says it has identified a number of concerns about the way financial institutions sell investment products to older customers.
This follows an inspection which covered a number of banks, building societies, insurance companies and stockbroking firms.
The regulator said that in some cases, basic customer information - such as a person's income, assets and liabilities - were not recorded, though financial institutions are supposed to do this before recommending an investment product to a customer.
The watchdog also said some firms still did not have a definition of an older customer, though the regulator has advised that over 60 is an appropriate benchmark.
The regulator's inspection also found that not all financial firms offered older people the option of having a third party present at a sales meeting, while some did not give customers any advice on the level of emergency funds they should keep for medical or other care expenses.
The regulator also carried out a 'mystery shopping' exercise, where it sent people aged 72 to 79 into a number of banks and building societies. It said the results of this exercise were better than the inspections, as 13 of the 14 shoppers were recommended a deposit where the term was no longer than three years.
