The Insured Retirement Institute recently came out with its 2018 Retirement Security Blueprint document.
The group will use the document as a framework for efforts to shape retirement security policy when it's working with members of Congress, and with representatives from the Trump administration.
Many provisions in the report relate mainly efforts to build annuitization options and other income security features into employer-sponsored retirement plans. Those could affect agents and brokers in the individual annuity market by changing clients' overall financial picture.
Other provisions in the blueprint document could have a direct impact on individual annuity producers' daily lives.
Many of the types of proposals IRI has offered appeal to some Democrats in Congress as well as to Republicans, and lawmakers may see working on IRI's priorities as a way to break the gridlock ice and operate in a more bipartisan fashion.
A complete version of the blueprint document is available here.
Here's a look at five of the 2018 IRI advocacy priorities of particular interest to individual annuity producers.
1. Adopting a variable annuity summary prospectus
Annuity producers now have to provide a full prospectus that looks like an old-fashioned telephone book, to clients who, in some cases, may have only dim memories of telephone books. About 60% of consumers say they would be more likely to talk to advisors about variable annuities if they had access to a summary prospectus.
2. Reducing the minimum retirement plan in-service rollover age.
