Advocacy in action blog

NAIFA strongly supports consumer protections provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Regulation Best Interest and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC’s) revised annuity model regulation (adopted by 19 states and counting). Both of these provisions require financial professionals to work in their clients’ best interests and preserve the ability of consumers to choose who they work with and how they compensate advisors. Reg BI and the NAIC model also avoid problems with other proposals that would have made it very difficult for producers to continue working with Main Street investors.

NAIFA Trustee Wes Booker, LUTCF, CEO of the Wes Booker Agency, The Horace Mann Companies, in Maumelle, AR, has announced that he is a candidate for the Arkansas State House of Representatives. He is running for the seat serving House District 71.

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced the Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act, a bipartisan bill that would create a Securities and Exchange Commission program to work with state regulators to protect senior investors.

A new report by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging prominently features comments submitted by NAIFA that highlight the important ongoing role advisors play in retirement planning.

NAIFA has announced that it will hold its 2022 Congressional Congress in-person May 23-24 in Washington, D.C. The event will feature targeted advocacy training with briefings on legislative issues that affect members’ businesses and the clients they serve. Expert presenters will offer best practices for conducting Congressional meetings and tips for developing impactful long-term relationships with legislators.

Beginning on December 27, 2021, brokers and consultants will be held to new compensation  transparency obligations under the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). The CAA is a spending  and coronavirus relief package that was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and expands ERISA’s existing disclosure requirements. It broadened the definition of a “covered plan” to include group health plans (previously it only included retirement plans).

NAIFA Senior Vice President for Government Relations Diane Boyle on June 22 submitted comments to FINRA in response to Regulatory Notice 21-17, Supporting Diversity & Inclusion in the Broker-Dealer Industry. Among several recommendations, NAIFA requested the U5 filing time limit be extended from two years to five years. Given the subject matter difficulty and extensive time commitment to earning FINRA Series Registrations, the extension would allow for a broader group of advisors to maintain their credentials despite taking leaves from the industry.  

The House passed H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act. Rep. Jaren Golden (D-ME) was the sole Democrat to vote against the bill. No Republicans voted for the bill. Now, on to the Senate, where significant changes are expected. Senate leadership wants to finish this before year-end, but given the other must pass agenda items (government funding, debt limit, defense authorization), that timing seems unlikely.  

NAIFA Trustee, Wes Booker, LUTCF, loyal member since 2004 can be spotted all across SEC country when he is not serving his clients out of Maumalle, AR. Booker is an NCAA Football referee for the Southeastern Conference. Recently, he had the honor of serving as an official during the 12th Annual Congressional Football Game.

The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill by a vote of 228-206 with 13 Republicans voting in favor and six Democrats opposing. The vote came after an agreement amongst Democrats that the social spending bill, the Build Back Better Act, would come to the House floor the week of November 15 with no further changes (other than technical corrections). Then the BBB legislation would go to the Senate, where is will likely undergo several changes before coming back to the House for a second vote.