The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a final judgment vacating the Department of Labor's Retirement Security Rule: Definition of and Investment Advice Fiduciary and related Prohibited Transaction Exemptions. The Texas District Court’s decision to vacate the fiduciary-only regulation is an advocacy win for NAIFA and a win for all retirement savers. NAIFA has strongly opposed the misguided regulation, which significantly would have restricted consumer choice and access to retirement advice.
In November 2025, the 5th Circuit Court dismissed the Department of Labor’s appeal of a decision that stayed the Biden Administration-era regulation. The stay was the result of a lawsuit filed by NAIFA, several NAIFA chapters in Texas, the American Council of Life Insurers, and others. That recent decision came after the DOL requested to withdraw its appeal.
NAIFA, ACLI, and the other parties to the lawsuit issued the following statement:
“The Department’s decision to end this case and the Court’s order vacating the fiduciary rulemaking package closes the chapter on the Biden Administration’s legally flawed fiduciary regulation. The Court’s ruling confirms the Biden rule conflicts with current law and exceeded the Department’s authority.
“Retirement savers are best served by policies that protect consumers while preserving choice and access to financial professionals - not regulatory overreach that reduces their options.
"Consumers already benefit from strong protections at both the state and federal levels, including enhanced annuity best interest standards adopted by most states and federal requirements governing investment advice. These frameworks protect consumers while preserving access to information and guidance about annuities – the only product available in the financial marketplace that acts like a pension by guaranteeing lifetime income.
“We appreciate the Trump Administration’s continued focus on Americans’ retirement security and look forward to continuing to work with the Department on policies grounded in the law that protect consumers while expanding access to professional financial guidance and lifetime income options.”
NAIFA’s Impact
NAIFA and NAIFA members have been vitally important in getting this favorable result. In 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a stay in the lawsuit that prevented the DOL rule from going into effect. Not only did the court grant the stay but it stated that “plaintiffs are virtually certain to succeed on the merits.” Furthermore, the court acknowledged NAIFA’s argument that the DOL rule “falters in the same way as the 2016 [DOL] Rule” that a federal court vacated after NAIFA and ACLI brought a previous lawsuit.
The Court’s ruling directly cited declarations submitted by long-time NAIFA members Doug Massey (2025 NAIFA President), Lesley Pinckard, and Danny Fisher. Their sworn statements were crucial to establishing that the fiduciary-only rule would impose irreparable harm on financial professionals and their clients.
“NAIFA has and always will fight to ensure that everyday Americans can achieve financial security by working with a trusted advisor,” said NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE. “Thanks to our coalition partners, and our chapters in Texas, for helping us defeat this misguided rule.”
Added Doug Massey: “The work that NAIFA and ACLI did to pass Annuity Best Interest Standards in 50 states made the DOL Fiduciary Only Rule, a solution in search of a problem.”
NAIFA Leading the Fight Since 2016
NAIFA played a leading role in opposing the Department of Labor’s 2016 Fiduciary Rule and ultimately helped secure its defeat in federal court. In 2018, ACLI, NAIFA, NAIFA-Texas and NAIFA Texas chapters won a landmark case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which vacated the rule. The decision once again demonstrated NAIFA’s effectiveness as a leading advocate for financial professionals and the clients they serve.
