IRI Has Questions for Biden's Treasury Nominee

The Insured Retirement Institute wants to know what President-elect Joe Biden's Treasury secretary pick, Janet Yellen, is thinking about issues related to retirement, income planning and aging. The Senate Finance Committee is preparing to hold a hearing on the Yellen nomination Tuesday. IRI President Wayne Chopus has sent the committee a list of questions IRI wants to see Yellen answer.

Resources

• The Senate Finance Committee's announcement for the Janet Yellen confirmation hearing
• Biden's Regulatory, Economic Teams Take Shape

Yellen served as Federal Reserve chairperson from 2014 to 2018. Since she left the Fed, she has been affiliated with the Brookings Institution. Chopus has given members of the Senate Finance Committee a long list of suggested questions. He wants senators to ask Yellen what she thinks about:

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new Regulation Best Interest framework for regulating the conduct of financial professionals.
• New programs that could help life insurers finance government infrastructure construction projects.
• New efforts to promote use of private-sector long-term care insurance and long-term care savings programs.
• New tax incentives for consumers who buy annuities.
• Updating the current variable insurance product investment rules, to make it easier for insurers to put exchange-traded funds (ETFs) inside the products.
• Efforts to make qualifying longevity annuity contracts (QLACs) available to more people.