Two federal district courts in Texas stayed (blocked) the new fiduciary rule’s September 23 effective date. Those stays remain in effect, pending the outcome of the courts’ decisions on the cases’ merits or whether the Department of Labor (DOL) decides to appeal the stays and is successful.

Two federal district courts in Texas have blocked enforcement of the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) fiduciary-only rule. The rule’s September 23 effective date was enjoined (blocked) by the Texas Eastern District Court on July 26, and then one day later stayed (stopped) by the Texas Northern District Court. NAIFA and several of its chapters are among the plaintiffs in the Northern District court case.

On July 10, the House Education and Workforce Committee approved a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to block the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) new fiduciary-only rule. The CRA resolution, H.J.Res.142, would “disapprove the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to “Retirement Security by Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary (89 Fed. Reg. 32122 (April 25, 2024)), and such rule shall have no force or effect.”

On May 24, a group of nine industry organizations, including NAIFA and the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) newly finalized fiduciary rule. Joining NAIFA and ACLI in the lawsuit are NAIFA-Texas, NAIFA-Fort Worth, NAIFA-Dallas, NAIFA-Piney Woods of East Texas, the National Association of Fixed Annuities (NAFA), the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), and Finseca.

Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to block the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) newly finalized fiduciary rule have been introduced in both the House and Senate. It appears the motion may pass, but President Biden is virtually certain to veto it if it does pass.

A study released on June 6 by the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) shows a 25 percent increase in pension risk transfer contracts in the first quarter of this year. A LIMRA statement discussing the study pointed to a record $14.6 billion in 146 contracts in companies shifting their lifetime pension obligations to annuities.

On April 23, the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its new fiduciary rule and its accompanying amendments to prohibited transaction exemptions (PTEs) 2020-02 and 84-24. The new rules would take effect September 23, but they have already triggered the first of what are likely to be multiple court challenges to them. Those court decisions could impact the effective date. And Congress is likely to vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) motion to block the rules, although even if a CRA motion passes both the House and Senate, President Biden will surely veto it.

Not only are fixed annuities now within the scope of the final fiduciary rule, but also a key tax writer is seeking information from the 12 biggest annuity writers about how annuities are sold. It appears that annuities are approaching being at the center of both Congressional and regulatory attention.

In the wee morning hours of March 23—just two hours after the midnight March 22 deadline—Congress completed the fraught process of funding the federal government’s discretionary spending for fiscal year (FY) 2024—six months after FY 2024 began this past October 1. President Biden signed the measure into law the same day. Despite hard lobbying, the final funding package excluded a rider that would have stopped the Department of Labor’s (DOL) work on its fiduciary rule.

On April 10, NAIFA met with the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to express the association’s concerns about the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) proposed fiduciary rule. NAIFA reiterated its long-standing opposition to the rule, citing its probable impact on the accessibility and affordability of professional investment advice for middle-American retirement savers. Late that afternoon, OIRA sent the proposed rule back to DOL for finalization, canceling at least two subsequent previously scheduled stakeholder meetings.

Repeating their testimony at a DOL hearing last month in comments submitted to DOL, industry advocates told a January 10 House hearing that the DOL’s fiduciary-only proposed regulations must be withdrawn. Fifty House members wrote to DOL demanding the rule’s withdrawal. DOL must sift through 19,000+ comments on the rule.

When the first session of the 118^th Congress ended last month, lawmakers left undone controversial and pressing business that will make January a difficult month. Pending are government funding, international aid, and expiring law issues on which there is as yet little or no consensus. Caught in the crosshairs are a tax package with provisions of interest to NAIFA members, extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and proposals to defund regulatory initiatives like the fiduciary-only rule.

At the NAIC’s Fall Meeting in Orlando, Florida (November 30 – December 3), NAIFA’s Policy Director Roger Moore testified against the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary-only rule during the Life and Annuities (A) Committee meeting, commenting that the rule will harm lower- and middle-income families. Moore was joined by representatives from coalition partners in expressing strong support for the NAIC’s efforts opposing DOL’s actions.

On October 31, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its new proposed fiduciary rule (which they renamed the retirement security rule). The proposal triggered immediate and intense opposition from NAIFA and from most of the retirement savings community.

Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) head Lisa Gomez is predicting changes to the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) fiduciary rule due to “changes in the marketplace since 1975.” She noted, though, that EBSA is also considering the litigation that has overruled previous attempts by EBSA to change the fiduciary rule, especially in connection with advice on rollovers.

On July 21, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) adopted a NAIFA-backed resolution to oppose any new fiduciary rule from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The decision came in part as a result of NAIFA testimony highlighting why no change to current fiduciary rules is necessary.

On April 14, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed a notice of appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on a Florida District Court ruling (American Securities Association v. United States Department of Labor) that struck down parts of the agency’s sub-regulatory guidance on the applicability of the fiduciary standard to advice on rolling over ERISA plan retirement funds into IRAs.