Advocacy in action blog

NAIFA supports the bipartisan Empowering States to Protect Seniors Against Bad Actors Act, which would establish a grant program at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to help states fund initiatives to protect consumers against financial scams. The grants would help states staff anti-scam enforcement offices, invest in technology, develop educational resources, and devise strategies specifically designed to protect seniors from financial exploitation and fraud.

An ongoing survey of NAIFA members will provide updated data to help NAIFA and our industry partners in future actions on the Department of Labor’s final fiduciary-only rule. The results will help us educate policymakers – and potentially the courts – on how the proposal will impact consumers and your business.

National Financial Literacy Month came to a close at the end of April 30, but educating consumers about the importance understanding their finances is a task NAIFA members can take to heart throughout the year. It's also has an important advocacy component. We are #NAIFAproud of members from NAIFA-Louisiana who worked in cooperation with Edward Jones and were instrumental in getting both the state House of Representatives and Senate to pass resolutions recognizing April as Financial Literacy Month in the state.

A NAIFA Advocacy Webinar
May 2 | 2 pm eastern

The U.S. Department of Labor‘s final fiduciary-only rule will force the vast majority of financial professionals offering retirement planning services and products into a fee-for-service model, unless Congress or the courts intervene. It will deprive many consumers of the valuable option of working with professionals operating under alternative models, including those with commission-based compensation, that may better meet their needs.

May 20-21 | Washington, D.C.
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NAIFA's Congressional Conference shines a spotlight on NAIFA's unmatched advocacy influence and provides financial professionals with another way to serve consumers' best interests. NAIFA members who meet with their members of Congress this May will not only be advocating for their own businesses but also for their colleagues, clients, and communities. Decisions made in Washington, D.C., affect the financial security of  families and businesses nationwide that rely on NAIFA members for financial guidance.

The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along partisan lines at an April 23 open Zoom meeting to approve its final Non-Compete Clause Rule which will ban most non-compete agreements.

The 570-page Final Rule becomes effective 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register unless a court issues an order staying that effective date while it considers challenges to the Final Rule. The Final Rule is expected to be published on April 25, 2024, and it would then become effective on August 23, 2024. Legal challenges are, however, expected to be filed immediately.

The Department of Labor and the White House have released a final fiduciary-only rule after an astonishingly brief regulatory and review process and in spite of grave concerns expressed by NAIFA, members of Congress, and other stakeholders. Unless Congress or the courts intervene, the rule will force the vast majority of financial professionals offering retirement planning services and products into a fee-for-service model. It will deprive consumers of the valuable option of working with professionals operating under alternative models that may better meet their needs.

The NAIFA-Arkansas Board of Directors hosted a dinner with the state legislature's joint House and Senate Insurance & Commerce Committees. Attendees included highly influential elected officials whose decisions impact financial professionals and consumers throughout the state. At least two of the lawmakers are practicing financial professionals, who naturally understand the issues that go before the committees.

NAIFA continues efforts to discourage the Department of Labor and the administration from moving forward with its flawed fiduciary-only rule. In a letter to DOL Acting Secretary Julie A. Su, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young, and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (ORIA) Administrator Richard Revesz, NAIFA and 10 other groups detailed problems with the rule's regulatory process and asked the administration to "stand up for the integrity of the regulatory process and continue the public input process, rather than finalize the fiduciary rule now."

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.