ACLI Issues Statement on Labor Secretary Acosta’s Fiduciary Regulation Decision

WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The American Council of Life Insurers issued the following statement by President and CEO Dirk Kempthorne on Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta's announcement that the applicability date of significant provisions of the fiduciary regulation will not be delayed beyond June 9:

"The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) is disappointed that on June 9 a regulation will go into effect that significantly harms consumers' ability to plan and save for financially secure retirements. Even Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta acknowledges that the fiduciary regulation needs further review.

"As currently written, the regulation limits retirement savers' access to education and information about annuities, the only financial products in the marketplace that guarantee lifetime income.

"ACLI supports reasonable and appropriately tailored rules that require all sales professionals to act in the best interest of their customers. The fiduciary regulation unfortunately does not meet this standard. We are committed to working with the administration, Congress and the states on public policies that help Americans achieve their financial and retirement security goals."

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association with approximately 290 member companies operating in the United States and abroad. ACLI advocates in state, federal, and international forums for public policy that supports the industry marketplace and the 75 million American families that rely on life insurers' products for financial and retirement security. ACLI members offer life insurance, annuities, retirement plans, long-term care and disability income insurance, and reinsurance, representing 94 percent of industry assets, 93 percent of life insurance premiums, and 97 percent of annuity considerations in the United States. Learn more at www.acli.com.