On July 28, the House Financial Services Committee voted to advance a bipartisan bill requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission to create a new form for registering index-linked annuities, which allows investors to save for retirement in a more streamlined process.

Registered index-linked annuity (RILA) products offer a good option for some consumers who want to benefit from market growth while reducing their exposure to market losses. These are long-term, tax-deferred investments that are often well-suited for investors who are preparing for retirement, especially those who are retired or are nearing retirement and wish to reduce the impact of market downturns.

Unfortunately, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) paperwork required to register RILAs is unnecessarily burdensome and confusing. It requires financial institutions to submit forms more often used for initial public offerings or other “catch-all” forms that require a great deal of extraneous information not relevant to RILAs and not readily available to insurance firms offering RILAs.

NAIFA, along with several of our industry partners, strongly supports the “Registration for Index Linked Annuities (RILA) Act” (S.3198/H.R.4865), which would require the SEC to create a form specific to RILA registrations.

It remains to be seen when the bill is brought to a vote in the House, but it is anticipated that it is likely to happen in September. However, the Senate the outlook for the Senate version of RILA is less certain. It remains to see if the Senate will take up the legislation before the end of the congressional calendar.