NAIFA is speaking out on behalf of financial professional and, particularly, the consumers who would be harmed by the Department of Labor's latest effort to reduce choices for Americans preparing for retirement. The fiduciary-only proposal, which is largely a rehash of a rule struck down by a federal appeals court in 2018, would radically change the financial services industry and reduce the ability of low- and middle-income retirement savers to access products and services.

NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux provided testimony on the DOL fiduciary-only rule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs highlighting NAIFA's concerns. Unfortunately, the White House Office of Management and Budget appears to be fast-tracking the measure and cleared the rule for DOL to finalize it the next day.

Nonetheless, people are taking notice of NAIFA's efforts. Mayeux's testimony and NAIFA's opposition to the rule garnered significant headlines the week of April 8.

"Don’t repeat 2016 fiduciary rule mistake, NAIFA urges DOL"

InvestmentNews
April 10, 2024 | By Leo Almazora

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors expressed significant concerns over the DOL’s proposed rule to enforce a fiduciary-only standard for financial professionals, emphasizing the potential adverse effects on low- and middle-income Americans’ access to financial advice.

Kevin Mayeux, CEO of NAIFA, voiced these concerns in discussions with officials from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget Wednesday.

"Fiduciary Rule Gets Dems' Support as NAIFA Seeks Halt"

Financial Advisor IQ
April 11, 2024 | By Alex Padalka

Meanwhile, NAIFA wants OIRA 'to discontinue the rulemaking' until it addresses the public comments on the rule, which it called "unnecessary and potentially harmful.

"By moving forward with the Proposed Rule, OIRA and DOL are ignoring ... the real-world experience that NAIFA members saw first-hand before the 2016 Fiduciary Rule was vacated," NAIFA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mayeux said in a statement on Wednesday.

"NAIFA Meets White House Team Reviewing DOL Fiduciary Rule Effort"

ThinkAdvisor
April 10, 2024 | By Allison Bell

Kevin Mayeux, NAIFA’s CEO, and other NAIFA representatives met with officials at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Mayeux told regulation reviewers that implementing the DOL proposal would make retirement savings advice too expensive for middle-income families by forcing financial professionals to charge all clients fees, rather than relying on sales commissions from financial product providers.

"Fiduciary Rule Meetings Disappointed Agent Groups"

ThinkAdvisor
April 11, 2024 | By Allison Bell

Mayeux, NAIFA’s CEO, said his group is disappointed by the White House decision to advance the fiduciary definition effort.

“It’s unfortunate that OMB decided to advance this rule so quickly, even while OIRA still has meetings with additional stakeholders scheduled,” Mayeux said.

“White House officials’ lack of engagement during our meetings with them and rush to complete the OIRA review gives the impression that the administration is rubber-stamping this rehashed proposal and not considering the serious consequences it will have for the American public,” he explained.

"OMB completes review of Labor Department’s polarizing fiduciary rule"

InsuranceNewsNet
April 11, 2024 | By John Hilton

National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors CEO Kevin Mayeux was among those invited to meet with OMB and submit testimony. The rule is "unnecessary and likely to harm low- and middle-income consumers by limiting their access to professional financial services," Mayeux told OMB, NAIFA said in a news release.

"If finalized, the Proposed Rule will again force financial professionals to move away from brokerage services into a fee-for-service model that is tailored to higher-income clients," Mayeux said. "This model simply does not work when a year-round fiduciary duty is imposed."

"Final Fiduciary Rule Coming Soon as OMB Completes Review"

401K Specialist
April 11, 2024 | By Brian Anderson

Kevin Mayeux, CEO of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), released a statement today expressing his disappointment that the OMB has concluded its review of the DOL’s “fiduciary-only rule that will limit the options of many American consumers seeking products and assistance as they prepare for retirement. …”

What's Next?

NAIFA's engagement with policymakers on the issue will continue. The DOL's previous effort to impose fiduciary-only restrictions failed when NAIFA and other groups eventually prevailed in court. On the current rule, Mayeux said, "NAIFA will continue working with our coalition partners and members of Congress as we pursue nonregulatory means of protecting American consumers from the consequences of the DOL rule."

Financial professionals can amplify NAIFA's message by attending NAIFA's Congressional Conference, May 20-21 in Washington, D.C., when we will take our concerns about the DOL rule directly to members of Congress.