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Don’t Guess What to Build Next: The DFA Dashboard Offers Practical Guide to Adoption
As firms continue planning for 2027, the Distributor Priority Dashboard offers a practical way to understand where Digital First for Annuities (DFA) adoption is gaining momentum and where future implementation efforts may deliver the greatest value.
Distributors have been clear about the standards and capabilities they are advocating for. The dashboard brings those signals together in one place, helping the industry move beyond disparate feedback from individual firms and toward a more coordinated view of market demand.
For carriers, platforms, solution providers, and other industry participants, this creates a clearer path for prioritization and sequencing. Rather than evaluating DFA initiatives in isolation, firms can use distributor advocacy as an input into roadmap planning, budget discussions, and implementation strategy.
The dashboard is available and will continue to be refreshed as new information comes in. As 2027 planning continues, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) encourages members to use this tool to help inform where investment, alignment, and adoption can have the greatest impact.
Please visit the Library of Standards to view the complete catalog of standards and best practices.
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Available Standards
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Available Best Practices
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DFA in Action
What if ceding contract data showed up instantly—accurate, complete, and ready to go?
That’s not aspirational. It’s already happening.
Through IRI’s DFA initiative, members are defining a standardized Ceding Carrier Data API that eliminates one of the most persistent friction points in annuity transfers.
JP Morgan Chase, alongside fellow IRI members including DTCC and Zinnia, is already putting a pre-live version of this standard to work—pre-populating contract data directly into the order entry process. The results: faster submissions, cleaner data, and a meaningful step toward true straight-through processing. Over 3,500 applications have already been pre-filled in just a few months.
The takeaway is simple: the data standard is here. The outcomes are proven. The firms that move now will define the future operating model.
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Standard Spotlight
Application Status Push Notifications,
Policy Inquiry, and Fund Transfers
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Three new DFA standards are now available for implementation: Application Status Push Notification, Policy Inquiry, and Fund Transfers. Together, these standards help firms streamline operations, improve access to information, and create more seamless digital experiences across the annuity ecosystem.
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Application Status Push Notification standard enables sending real-time application updates, reducing the need for status requests.
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Policy Inquiry provides a standardized way to access policy information.
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Fund Transfers establishes a common approach for processing movement of assets within annuity contracts.
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These additions further the DFA mission of helping firms build once and connect with many through industry-supported standards.
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DFA1: How DFA Is Changing the Way Annuities Get Done
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In the latest episode of DFA1, Katherine Dease, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, IRI, explains how IRI’s DFA initiative is answering the call to improve the annuity experience for financial professionals and consumers that will help unlock future growth.
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| Operations & Technology Important Dates
Strategy Implementation Committee
July 10 | 10 a.m. ET
Digital First Steering Committee
August 12 | 4 p.m. ET
Operations & Technology Committee
August 19 | 4 p.m. ET
Governance Subcommittee
Mondays | 11:30 a.m. ET
Beneficiary Management Working Group
Mondays (bi-weekly) | 12:30 p.m. ET
Ceding Carrier Data Working Group
Tuesdays | 10 a.m. ET
Book of Business Working Group
Tuesdays | 3 p.m. ET |
