Recent successes
The Power of Us has had many notable and recent successes.
Remember the Department of Labor (DOL) rule that would
have imposed fiduciary status on all your conversations and
recommendations related to qualified plans and IRAs? The 5th
Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the DOL fiduciary rule in its
entirety.
The Power of Us also protected the current tax rules for life and
annuity products, as well as the pre-tax funding of retirement
savings plans. We advocated for and got improvements to the
Security and Exchange Commission’s new Regulation Best Interest.
We promoted changes in the federal Senior Safe Act to protect
you from liability issues when you identify potential senior
financial abuse.
Our work is never-ending. Earlier this year, the House of
Representatives passed 417-3 the Setting Every Community Up
for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE) retirement readiness
legislation followed by another overwhelmingly bipartisan vote,
419 to 6, to permanently repeal the 40% excise tax on health
plans, the so-called “Cadillac Tax.” We’re still leading the effort
to get the Senate to pass these measures. We also suggested
long-term care policies to the Department of Treasury and
raised concerns with the new Medicare Plan finder and offered
suggested fixes to CMS.
Power to protect and influence
Being part of the process and part of the team of influencers
is hugely rewarding. You can use the power of your profession to
differentiate yourself from the competition, instill trust in your
clients and do the good work needed to help Americans achieve
financial security.
You can learn more about how NAILBA and NAIFA are involved,
as well as how you can become politically active by visiting the
Advocacy Action Center on both the NAILBA and NAIFA websites.
The Power of Us
protected the current tax
rules for life and annuity
products, as well as
the pre-tax funding of
retirement savings plans.
Making a difference at the state level
The Power of Us extends to state-level advocacy work to stave
off several potential threats to your livelihood. For example, state
government proposals mandating employers participate in state-
run retirement and health programs that would compete directly
with you. The 2020 State Risk Assessment suggests California,
Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New
Jersey will face the greatest battles addressing fiduciary, privacy,
genetic testing, state-run retirement and health plans balanced
with the opportunity to enhance senior protection. We are
committed to legislative and regulatory success in all states.
You have the power to protect your business’ livelihood. All
it takes is your involvement and participation. In the words of
former Sen. Thad Cochran, “If you don’t help shape legislation
by providing your input and expertise to your elected officials,
you can be sure that someone else will.” Adding the Power of
You to the Power of Us results in more impactful engagement.
Policymakers intuitively lean toward policy positions that have
broad and local support.
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