The Past and Possible Future of ERISA Regulation of Advice
Could the 'NeverEnding Story' of the Labor Department's fiduciary rule possibly be coming to an end? We may be close to a final answer, writes ERISA attorney Andrew L....
Regulations/Legal
‘Asset-intensive’ annuity reinsurance has NAIC’s attention
At an Oct. 24 meeting, the NAIC's Life Actuarial Task Force (LATF) continued to hammer out a new guideline for 'asset adequacy testing' of offshore reinsurance reserves. Starting in...
Sen. Warren Speaks Up for ‘Fiduciary Rule,’ Puts Down Annuity Sales Perks
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) new white paper details the sales incentives that annuity issuers offer insurance agents; the incentives, she says, show that the DOL's long-denied 'fiduciary rule' is...
The case for affiliated reinsurance in the Cayman Islands
The Cayman Island's "legislative and regulatory regime is less prescriptive and therefore affords prospective Cayman reinsurers greater flexibility to propose a bespoke capital model to our regulator without being...
Here Come the Suits
Close observers of the 'Bermuda Triangle' strategy weren't surprised when class action lawsuits were filed against AT&T, State Street Global Advisors and Lockheed Market for their choice of Athene...
This Year’s Legal Battles
The life/annuity industry faces three big legal issues this year. All stem from, or are complicated by, the patchwork regulation of financial products in the US, our out-of-date pension...
NAIC Urged to Limit ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Strategy
'The ability of insurers to significantly lower the total asset requirement for long-duration blocks of business that rely heavily on asset returns appears to be one of the drivers...
Of Athene, Pension Risk Transfers, and Fiduciaries
The ERISA Advisory Council recently heard comments on changing the criteria that fiduciaries use when vetting annuity providers in pension risk transfer deals. Athene's vice chairman defended his company's...
Nationwide is 13th life insurer nabbed by New York
To date, New York's industry-wide investigation has led to settlements with thirteen life insurance companies, totaling about $29 million in restitution and penalties.
Desperately Seeking Alpha (and Getting Caught)
Low rates, demand for yield, financial alchemy, gaudy incentives and a black swan event provided the ingredients for the cataclysm at AGI US. Pictured: SEC chief Gary Gensler.
How to Interpret the Proposed RMD Regs: Wagner Law
Without special 'see-through' trust provisions, a retirement asset with a trust as beneficiary may need to be distributed by the end of the 5th year following the year the participant...
‘SECURE 2.0’ Passes House, Moves to Senate
Retirement industry stakeholders and their representatives praised the passage of the bill, HR 2954, which loosens the rules on RMDs and QLACs and clears the way for ETFs in...
Lawsuits against DOL won’t change client strategy: Reish
On February 2, the Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice sued the DOL in Texas federal court. In a second suit, the American Securities Association sued the DOL in...
It’s Back: The Norcross-Walberg Bill to Make Annuities a 401(k) Default
Under the bill, participants who are defaulted into an annuity must have 180 days before their premium becomes illiquid, and the participant must receive 30 days notice before the...
Retirement reforms cut from Build Back Better Act
The 'back door' Roth IRA will not be closed, and limits won't be placed on contributions by higher-income individuals with large account balances, NAPA Net reported.
Advisers, Beware of PTE 2020-02: Wagner Law
ERISA expert Kimberly Elliott of the Wagner Law Group tells wealth managers how to avoid running afoul of the Department of Labor's Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 when counseling plan...
Tax hike looms for top earners
The House Ways & Means Committee's budget reconciliation recommendations include, among other measures, increases in income taxes on individuals earning over $400,000.
Progress for retirement provision in ‘Build Back Better’ bill
'Among other things, the legislation would require employers without employer-sponsored retirement plans to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs or 401(k)-type plans,' according to a report today in the...
SEC hires Barbara Roper, aggressive consumer advocate
Roper will focus on issues relating to retail investor protection, including broker-dealer oversight, investment adviser oversight, and examinations, an SEC release said.
TIAA Broker-Dealer Settles SEC Allegations for $96 Million
TIAA-CREF Individual and Institutional Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America is alleged to have failed to adequately disclose conflicts of interest and to...
