The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has granted a request by NAIFA, ACLI, several NAIFA chapters, and other advocacy partners to stay the Department of Labor's fiduciary-only rule, stating that our case is "virtually certain to succeed on the merits." The action follows a similar stay issued Thursday by a different federal court in a similar case.

NAIFA and the other plaintiffs have issued the following statement on this newest development:

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), NAIFA-Texas, NAIFA-Dallas, NAIFA-Fort Worth, NAIFA-POET, Finseca, Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), and National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) issued a statement on today’s decision by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas to grant the joint trade groups’ request for a stay of the effective date halting the implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s fiduciary-only regulation:

“We are grateful to the court for its decision to issue a stay halting the September 23, 2024, effective date of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary-only regulation, the DOL’s latest attempt to vastly expand its statutory authority by imposing fiduciary status on almost every financial professional who sells retirement products.

“If allowed to take effect, this rule would deprive millions of consumers access to much needed retirement financial guidance and protected lifetime income products, replicating the considerable harm suffered under a similar 2016 DOL regulation vacated by a federal court in 2018.

“The stay of the effective date provides consumers with a needed reprieve from these devastating consequences as the court considers the substantial legal issues we have raised regarding this ill-advised rule.”