COMMITTEES
Where Members Work Together for Industry Growth and Standards
Insured Retirement Institute Standing Committees assist the organization in the development of essential priorities and programs to continually improve the insured retirement industry overall.
Each committee meets approximately three times each year and remains active throughout the year through meetings, teleconferences, emails, and mailings. IRI members can become active members of more than one committee.
Visit your IRI account to manage committee participation.
IRI Committees
Advocacy Steering Committee
Responsible for setting and prioritizing legislative and regulatory issues and for managing IRI’s federal and state advocacy strategies on an ongoing basis. The Committee provides input to IRI’s advocacy committees and working groups on the development of IRI’s policy positions and the strategies and tactics employed to advance those positions. The Committee also serves as a conduit between the IRI Board of Directors Advocacy Working Group and IRI’s advocacy committees and working groups to ensure consistency across all levels of the association. Membership on this Committee is by invitation only.
Asset Managers Committee
Serves as a voice for asset manager members of IRI. The committee works collaboratively with distributor and insurer members to strengthen and expand the overall health and growth of the insured retirement industry. The Asset Managers Committee provides thought leadership and guidance to the IRI Board of Directors, membership and staff, from the asset manager perspective, in the development and expansion of the association and the insured retirement industry. Participants on this committee are limited to Asset Manager members.
Compliance and Implementation Committee
Focuses on issues, challenges, and opportunities related to compliance with and implementation of state and federal rules and regulations. This committee provides a forum for IRI members to work through complex requirements and to discuss best practices and experiences related to compliance and implementation. This committee may also be used to discuss opportunities to enhance rules and regulations and provide feedback to other IRI committees to help guide future change and advocacy efforts.
Government Affairs Advisory Committee
Provides a forum for IRI members to share information about policies, laws, and regulations produced by Congress, the White House, and federal agencies that may affect IRI membership. The Committee is charged with assessing critical issues; evaluating and monitoring legislation and regulatory or potential regulatory issues; and developing consensus policy positions to guide IRI’s advocacy efforts, including promulgating IRI’s annual Federal Retirement Security Blueprint. The Committee also assists IRI staff in building bipartisan relationships with lawmakers and administration officials to whom IRI advocates for the enactment and adoption of policy positions and proposals. Participation on this committee is limited to Government Affairs representatives.
DEI Advisory Council
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Advisory Council’s mission is to collaborate on the development and adoption of DEI best practices in our member organizations, such that we see significant adoption across our industry. Members of this committee consist of DEI industry leaders who work in collaboration with our DEI Board Working Group ensuring we are surfacing best practices in lockstep with executive buy-in. Participation is limited to two representatives per member company.
Member Services Advisory Council
Members of the Council meet as needed to review current IRI initiatives and solicit guidance as well as provide feedback on membership experiences and areas where IRI can improve and grow. Participation on this committee is limited to one representative per member company.
Operations and Technology Senior Steering Committee (SSC)
Provides a framework to strategize and prioritize initiatives within the Operations and Technology Community to best support the insured retirement income industry. Operations and Technology focuses on four main strategic pillars: i) market penetration and engagement across the Broker-Dealers (BDs), Independent Insurance Marketing Organizations (IMOs), and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and Outside Insurance Desks (OIDs), and the solution providers, ii) increasing awareness and adoption of existing digital solutions iii) process and regulation, iv) data enablement. Membership on this Committee is by invitation only.
Operations and Technology Committee
Provides a platform for member collaboration, participation and industry leadership to drive the support of the retirement solutions industry with a focus on operational efficiencies through standardization and simplification of the product life-cycle by leveraging technology, while responding to regulatory directives. Operations and Technology focuses on four main strategic pillars: i) market penetration and engagement across the Broker-Dealers (BDs), Independent Insurance Marketing Organizations (IMOs), and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and Outside Insurance Desks (OIDs), and the solution providers, ii) Increasing awareness and adoption of existing digital solutions iii) process and regulation, iv) data enablement.
Operations and Technology Utopia Review Board (URB)
Serves an Advisory Board to the Senior Steering Committee (SSC). The URB represents four focus areas: operations/service, technology, regulation and sales/marketing. The URB mission is to guide Industry discussions and development of processes and technology that moves us towards a utopian annuity sales and service model. URB drives this work towards the Guiding Principles of Customer Experience, Data and Speed which we believe exhibit a Utopian process. Membership on this Committee is by invitation only.
Public Relations Committee
Improves and enhances the brand of insured retirement strategies through earned media in top-tier publications that reach multiple core audiences. The Committee works to broaden the awareness and increase the understanding of insured retirement strategies through earned media in top-tier publications that reach multiple core audiences. The Committee works to ensure that IRI is a “first phone call resource” for the media and IRI members for both positive media and crisis management issues. Participants on this committee are preferred to be in a communications role.
Retirement Research Committee
Exists to inform and determine IRI research priorities, and serve in a planning, review and editorial capacity regarding content. The Retirement Research Committee also collectively establishes meaningful discussion agendas for monthly committee calls and periodic in-person meetings to help committee members learn from each other, and develop best practices for addressing industry issues and capitalizing on opportunities.
Retirement Plans and Tax Committee
Responsible for all legislative and regulatory activity arising under or relating to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code, including, but not limited to, rulemaking by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The Committee assists IRI in developing policy positions and advocacy strategies on priority issues including drafting comment letters and testimony.
Securities Committee
Responsible for all legislative and regulatory activity arising under, or relating to, federal or state securities law, including, but not limited to, rulemaking by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), and individual state securities agencies. The Committee assists IRI in developing policy positions and advocacy strategies on priority issues including drafting comment letters and testimony.
State Affairs Committee
Responsible for state activity that would impact the sale of retirement income products proposed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), National Conference of Insurance Legislatures (NCOIL), North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), and state and regulatory bodies. The Committee assists IRI in developing policy positions and advocacy strategies on priority issues including drafting comment letters and testimony.