Senate Passes Financial Reform Bill

Harkin Amendment Provides Final Definition of Fixed Indexed Annuities as Insurance Products

This has been a historic week for the future of Fixed Indexed Annuities. On Monday, July 12, the appeals court vacated the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Rule 151A. While this was certainly good news, the passing of the Financial Regulations Bill by the Senate will prevent the SEC from asserting jurisdiction over Fixed Indexed Annuities when the conditions of the Harkin Amendment are satisfied.

After our next hurdle – getting this important legislation signed into law by the President – we must continue our diligence and focus adhering to state insurance regulation, product education and annuity training so consumers are assured an open and well-informed marketing environment.

While this is great news for the insurance industry it is also a reminder that it is our collective responsibility to make sure we never again face the challenges we have had to endure since the SEC introduced Rule 151A a little more than a year and a half ago.

We should be controlled in our exuberance and remain focused on a simple fact. Fixed annuities offer consumers a means of guaranteed retirement income that may play a vital role in helping consumers provide for their own financial wellbeing in retirement. 

Strict adherence to state regulations and our own code of ethics, should always be our primary focus as we continue to provide products and services to assist our consumers with their retirement needs.

Thank you to all of you that wrote letters, made phone calls and made other important contributions to this effort. The Annuity News worked hard to support this effort throughout the process.

We can all feel rewarded by the fact that our efforts have yielded these positive results. The Annuity News would like to acknowledge and express special thanks to the National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) for their continuous work on all fronts of this effort.