Advocacy in action blog

Nine insurance trade associations filed a lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to overturn a regulation limiting consumers' choice of financial professional and their access to retirement products that deliver protected lifetime income.

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), NAIFA-Texas, NAIFA-Dallas, NAIFA-Fort Worth, NAIFA-POET, Finseca, Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), and National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) issued the following comments on their challenge to the DOL's harmful intervention in the retirement savings marketplace and its one-size-fits-all fiduciary standard obligation on effectively every financial professional who sells retirement products:

NAIFA is hosting the 11^th annual Congressional Conference May 20-21 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C. The event will feature targeted advocacy training with briefings on legislative issues that affect members’ businesses, clients, and communities. Washington insiders will offer best practices for conducting Congressional meetings and tips for developing impactful long-term relationships with legislators.

NAIFA supports the newly introduced Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution disapproving the DOL’s final fiduciary-only rule that will negatively impact and impose new costs on middle- and low-income savers, as well as financial services professionals. CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE, sent letters personally thanking Representative Rick Allen and Senators Roger Marshall, Joe Manchin, Ted Budd, and Bill Cassidy for introducing the resolution in the House and Senate, respectively. ACLI, NAIFA, Finseca, IRI and NAFA also issued a joint release supporting the CRA review.

NAIFA supports the bipartisan Empowering States to Protect Seniors Against Bad Actors Act, which would establish a grant program at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to help states fund initiatives to protect consumers against financial scams. The grants would help states staff anti-scam enforcement offices, invest in technology, develop educational resources, and devise strategies specifically designed to protect seniors from financial exploitation and fraud.

An ongoing survey of NAIFA members will provide updated data to help NAIFA and our industry partners in future actions on the Department of Labor’s final fiduciary-only rule. The results will help us educate policymakers – and potentially the courts – on how the proposal will impact consumers and your business.

National Financial Literacy Month came to a close at the end of April 30, but educating consumers about the importance understanding their finances is a task NAIFA members can take to heart throughout the year. It's also has an important advocacy component. We are #NAIFAproud of members from NAIFA-Louisiana who worked in cooperation with Edward Jones and were instrumental in getting both the state House of Representatives and Senate to pass resolutions recognizing April as Financial Literacy Month in the state.

A NAIFA Advocacy Webinar
May 2 | 2 pm eastern

The U.S. Department of Labor‘s final fiduciary-only rule will force the vast majority of financial professionals offering retirement planning services and products into a fee-for-service model, unless Congress or the courts intervene. It will deprive many consumers of the valuable option of working with professionals operating under alternative models, including those with commission-based compensation, that may better meet their needs.

May 20-21 | Washington, D.C.
Register Today!

NAIFA's Congressional Conference shines a spotlight on NAIFA's unmatched advocacy influence and provides financial professionals with another way to serve consumers' best interests. NAIFA members who meet with their members of Congress this May will not only be advocating for their own businesses but also for their colleagues, clients, and communities. Decisions made in Washington, D.C., affect the financial security of  families and businesses nationwide that rely on NAIFA members for financial guidance.

The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along partisan lines at an April 23 open Zoom meeting to approve its final Non-Compete Clause Rule which will ban most non-compete agreements.

The 570-page Final Rule becomes effective 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register unless a court issues an order staying that effective date while it considers challenges to the Final Rule. The Final Rule is expected to be published on April 25, 2024, and it would then become effective on August 23, 2024. Legal challenges are, however, expected to be filed immediately.

The Department of Labor and the White House have released a final fiduciary-only rule after an astonishingly brief regulatory and review process and in spite of grave concerns expressed by NAIFA, members of Congress, and other stakeholders. Unless Congress or the courts intervene, the rule will force the vast majority of financial professionals offering retirement planning services and products into a fee-for-service model. It will deprive consumers of the valuable option of working with professionals operating under alternative models that may better meet their needs.