Advocacy in action blog

Annuities can be an important part of Americans’ retirement portfolios and NAIFA’s advocacy work in recent years has helped ensure that they are more widely available to American workers and more flexible for annuity customers. With traditional pensions going the way of the dinosaur, annuities are often the only retirement planning products that guarantee income for the life of the beneficiary.

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We ARE the people making a real difference in achieving financial security for Main Street Americans.
 
NAIFA’s advocacy efforts are nonstop, working on behalf of agents & advisors, and your clients. No other association represents financial services professionals at the state, interstate, and federal levels. No other association brings 500+ producers to Washington, D.C., year after year for our Congressional Conference to speak with federal lawmakers about issues that impact the financial security of American families and businesses.

Passage of the Registered Index-Linked Annuities (RILA) Act and the SECURE Act 2.0 as part of the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill greatly benefits consumers as well as the insurance financial professionals who help them prepare for retirement and achieve financial security. The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has strongly advocated on behalf of both pieces of legislation.

“With this bipartisan legislation, Congress makes it easier for Americans to prepare for retirement and gives them greater access to innovative annuity products that guarantee lifetime income while offering some protections from market volatility,” said NAIFA President Lawrence Holzberg, LUTCF, LACP. “SECURE 2.0 will also make it easier for more companies to offer retirement plans for their employees. Preparing for a secure retirement is a vital part of any financial plan and receiving a guaranteed lifetime income can be an important part of that plan for many consumers. It’s great to see strong advocacy efforts by NAIFA, our members, and our advocacy partners pay off with a great win for consumers.”

NAIFA commends the House of Representatives on passing the SECURE 2.0 (H.R.2954) retirement planning legislation in a 414-5 vote. The popular legislation simplifies the process and creates incentives for employers to create and enroll employees in workplace retirement plans. It also creates greater flexibility for workers who contribute to the plans.

NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE, has sent a letter to three members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), thanking them for introducing the Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act of 2021, which contains some provisions found in a bill that has passed the House and is commonly known as the SECURE Act 2.0.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) have introduced the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021, also known as the SECURE Act 2.0, and Neal has scheduled a markup session in the committee for Wednesday.

The SECURE Act, enacted in December 2019, changes the rules for certain inherited retirement accounts whose original owners died after Dec. 31, 2019. Under the new rule, many heirs to IRAs and 401(k) accounts will have to fully distribute the funds from their inherited accounts (and pay income tax on the distributions) within 10 years of the original owner’s death. The rule does not apply to surviving spouses, minor children, heirs who are disabled or chronically ill, and heirs who are within 10 years of the age of the decedent.

NAIFA is hopeful that the 117^th Congress will reintroduce and enact the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020 (SSRA), bipartisan legislation with many provisions to make it easier for employers to offer plans and to encourage higher participation rates by employees.