Bill Could Kill SEC's New Index-Linked Annuity Registration Rule

A member of Congress wants to cancel the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new registration system for registered index-linked annuities and annuities with market-value-adjustment features.

Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., has introduced House Joint Resolution 209, a measure that would express congressional disapproval of the SEC’s new RILA and MVA registration regulations. Congressional adoption of the resolution would overturn the regulations.

Palmer did not make a statement or put out a press release discussing the bill, and members of his office could not immediately be reached for comment.

What it means: Annuity issuers have been lobbying the SEC for years to create a new registration process for RILA contracts, to eliminate the need for issuers to use the same kind of complicated process used to register a publicly traded company.

The SEC finally voted to adopt final registration regulations in June, in response to a requirement included in an appropriations bill passed in 2022.

It could be that some of the issuers or others are unhappy with the results of that effort.