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IRI Convenes Second Industry Hackathon
The 2026 IRI Hackathon made one thing clear: the pace of innovation in our industry is accelerating. In just two and a half days, cross-functional teams built working solutions that would traditionally take months. Use cases covered broker-dealer and agent transitions, inforce management, applications, and client engagement. Teams demonstrated that when open standards are paired with modern AI capabilities, long-standing industry friction points can be dramatically reduced. Processes that take weeks today were reimagined as real-time experiences, with improved transparency, fewer errors, and significantly less manual effort.
The next phase for Digital First for Annuities (DFA) is about taking these validated concepts and moving them into production through continued collaboration, standardization, and adoption across the industry.
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DFA1: Highlights from the IRI Digital First for Annuities Hackathon
DFA1 is a IRI’s short-form video series highlighting the progress, insights, and real-world success stories emerging from the DFA initiative. In the latest episode, Katherine Dease, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, talks about the recent, successful IRI Hackathon and what it signals for the future of the insured retirement industry.
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New Digital First Dashboard Layout
IRI has launched several enhancements to its Digital First for Annuities Dashboard, giving Operations and Technology leaders deeper, more flexible visibility into industry progress. A new dashboard delivers a focused view of adoption by initiative, including an upcoming planned adoptions chart and a recent movers table to track firms actively advancing their status.
Carriers can now access a dedicated carrier dashboard with solutions provider relationship mapping, surfacing adoption data through the lens of specific firm pairings.
Additionally, a new full screen mode allows users to expand the dashboard directly in their browser — making it easier to present and review data in any setting.
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IRI Vision: Closing the Client Expectation Gap
Vision is IRI’s blog that highlights thought leadership within the insured retirement industry.
In the latest post, Katherine Dease, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, IRI, explains how the industry is building a foundation through IRI’s Digital First for Annuities initiative to meet consumers’ rising “expectation inflation” with digital experiences.
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Digital Notice of Replacement: What’s Holding It Back
Replacement Processing (RPL) enables digital, system confirmed replacement notifications with clear timestamps and audit trails. Yet many carriers still mail paper Notices of Replacement—not due to technology gaps, but regulatory interpretation. NAIC Model 613 uses the word “mail,” and without explicit guidance, carriers are unwilling to rely solely on digital notice due to examination risk.
IRI has published a short one pager outlining this issue and a narrow regulatory question focused on digital notification through RPL.
Next, IRI will engage member legal and compliance teams to assess electronic delivery frameworks and where and if regulatory clarification is needed to unlock safe, voluntary modernization.
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Producer Training: A Solved Problem We’re Still Paying For
At a recent industry conference, one message came through loud and clear: producer training is still one of the most common drivers of Not In Good Order (NIGO). That’s not new—but what is new is that the industry already has a standard designed to fix it.
The Producer Training API was created to eliminate the delays, rework, and frustration caused by manual and batch-based training verification. Instead of waiting hours—or days—to confirm whether a producer has completed required training, eligibility can be confirmed in real time, directly in presale and submission workflows.
What’s in it for you?
Fewer stalled applications. Fewer false declines. Less manual follow up between carriers, distributors, and training vendors. And most importantly, faster, more predictable outcomes for producers and operations teams alike.
When training status is digitally confirmed upfront, producers aren’t surprised at the point of sale, operations teams aren’t chasing documentation, and compliance risk is reduced before it becomes rework.
The standard exists. The value is proven. The opportunity now is adoption—so training stops being a recurring NIGO headline and starts being a solved problem.
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Three key financial transactions standards are now available to support financial professionals and clients with faster, more reliable processing:
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One-Time Withdrawals
Submit and process full surrenders or partial distribution requests digitally, including free withdrawals and required minimum distributions (RMDs).
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One-Time Withdrawal Quotes
Retrieve estimates in real time for withdrawals, helping clients and Financial Professionals understand potential fees, tax implications, and available amounts before submitting a request.
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Systematic Programs
Establish and manage recurring withdrawal programs digitally, including defined payment amounts, frequency, start dates, and payment methods. These streamlined workflows support predictable retirement income and reduce operational burden.
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What’s Next
The Financial Transactions working group is now focused on policy inquiry. Policy inquiry will simplify how financial professionals and solution providers retrieve key policy details, improve data clarity, and support faster, more informed client interactions.
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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Operations and Technology Important Dates
Financial Transactions Working Group
April 2 | 1 p.m. ET
Strategy Implementation Committee
April 10 | 3 p.m. ET and April 22 | Noon ET
Operations & Technology Committee
April 15 | 4 p.m. ET
Digital First for Annuities Steering Committee
April 22 | 9 a.m. ET
Digital First for Annuities Steering Committee (Distributors Only)
April 23 | 1 p.m. ET
Inforce Transactions Working Group
April 30 | 12:30 p.m. ET
Digital Submission Only Working Group
Tuesdays | 11 a.m. ET
Governance Subcommittee
Mondays | 11:30 a.m. ET
Ceding Carrier Data Working Group
Tuesdays | 10 a.m. ET
2026 IRI Annual Conference
April 22-24 | Tampa, FL | Register
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