Senate Passes RILA Annuity Bill
The bill would direct the SEC to create a new registration form to replace the "largely inapplicable forms" currently used.
The full Senate late Tuesday passed S. 3198, the Registered Index-Linked Annuities Act, which directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to develop a registration form designed for RILA products within 18 months after enactment of the act.
The House Financial Services Committee approved companion legislation H.R. 4865, the Registration for Index-Linked Annuities Act, on July 28 by a unanimous vote.
The bill “will improve consumer access to innovative lifetime income solutions that help protect against the possibility of outliving savings during retirement,” the Insured Retirement Institute said Tuesday in a statement. “The RILA Act will eliminate the most significant impediment now constraining insurers from issuing RILAs as well as consumers’ use of RILAs.”
In addition, the bill “would direct the SEC to promulgate a new form to replace the largely inapplicable forms annuity issuers currently are required to use when filing RILAs with the Commission,” IRI said.
IRI has advocated for the legislation’s passage.
“With the Senate passage tonight, we urge the House to act expeditiously to pass the Senate bill,” Paul Richman, chief government and political affairs officer at IRI, said in the statement. “Consumer demand for RILAs continues to accelerate because they can bring balance to retirement portfolios by allowing participation in market growth while reducing exposure to market loss, helping savers reach retirement goals.”
IRI maintains that the “current forms used to file RILAs are ones designed for use in connection with Initial Public Offerings or other ‘catch-all’ forms not germane to insurance products. These forms require the disclosure of financial information in line with GAAP, as well as other extensive information that is irrelevant for prospective annuity purchasers.”