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2026 Digital First Steering Chairs
The 2026 Digital First for Annuities (DFA) Steering Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs are confirmed. These senior industry leaders will continue to provide strategic direction, peer leadership, and momentum as the industry advances digital-first transformation across the industry. Thank you to all current and past Chairs for their leadership, commitment, and continued partnership.
Carrier Chairs:
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Michael Downing
Chief Operating Officer
Athene Holding
Co-Chair
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Scott Haggerty
Chief Operating Officer
Prudential Retirement
Co-Chair
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Matt Wion
Chief Operating Officer
Prudential Retirement
Vice Chair
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Distributor Chairs:
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Arron Price
Chief Operating Officer
Financial Independence Group
Chair
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Greg Jaeck, CFA,
WMFM – Retirement Products
Edward Jones
Vice Chair
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Standards Ready for Implementation
As firms kick off the year, several Digital First for Annuities standards are available and ready to implement, helping organizations reduce friction, improve data quality, and speed up annuity transactions. These standards can lower operational burdens while improving the experience for financial professionals and clients alike:
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Application Status: provides clearer, real-time visibility into where an annuity application stands, reducing follow-up calls, emails, and manual status checks.
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Producer Training: provides real-time confirmation of completed training, minimizing errors and helping applications move forward without unnecessary delays.
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Active Annuity Income: provides access to current income payment details, supporting more confident client conversations and better ongoing income planning discussions.
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Spotlight: Application Status
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What It Does
The Application Status Push Notifications Working Group is developing a standard for proactively sharing meaningful annuity application status updates as they occur. The group is defining a common event structure including triggers and data elements. These push notifications will complement the existing Application Status API calls, providing timely awareness when a status changes or action is required.
Why It’s Important
Knowing where an annuity application stands shouldn’t require repeated check-ins, portal refreshes, or follow-up emails. Push notifications reduce this friction by improving transparency, enabling faster response times, and cutting down on manual operational touchpoints. The result is a more connected experience for advisors and clients, and a scalable approach for firms as volumes grow.
Call to Action
Interested in helping shape this standard? To be part of the conversation, please reach out to hpikus@irionline.org.
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2026 IRI Hackathon
The 2026 IRI Hackathon is coming up on February 24-26 in Columbus, OH. The event is will bring together 40 firms to collaborate on solutions to some of the industry’s most pressing challenges.
Teams will be working across seven focus areas, ranging from agent movement and operational efficiency to artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. The Hackathon continues to be a strong catalyst for practical innovation and cross-firm collaboration as the industry evolves.
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DFA1: A Quick Look at 2025 Progress and What’s Ahead
The newest episode of DFA1, IRI’s short-form video series, is now live. Katherine Dease, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Mark Francis, Director, Operations and Technology, and Hannah Pikus, Director, Digital First Standards, recap key 2025 wins from the Digital First for Annuities initiative and preview priorities for 2026.
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Industry Perspective: Digital First for Annuities—From Vision to Reality
A recent Plan Sponsor article takes a closer look at how IRI’s Digital First for Annuities initiative is translating industry collaboration into real operational progress. The piece explores early results from standardized, paperless processes, growing adoption of DFA standards, and new frameworks that help integrate annuities more seamlessly into financial planning. Together, these developments point to a modernization effort that is gaining traction and setting the stage for what comes next.
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Interested in Writing a Sponsored Thought Leadership Article?
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Operations and Technology Important Dates
Digital First Steering Committee
January 28 | 3 p.m. ET
Strategy Implementation Committee
February 13 | 3 p.m. ET
Operations & Technology Committee
February 18 | 4 p.m. ET
2026 IRI Hackathon
February 24-26 | Columbus, OH
Governance Subcommittee
Mondays | 11:30 a.m. ET
Ceding Carrier Data Working Group
Tuesdays | 10 a.m. ET
Digital Submission Only Working Group
Tuesdays | 11 a.m. ET
Inforce Transactions Working Group
On hold
Visualizing Annuities Working Group
On hold
Process & Regulation Subcommittee
As needed |
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