IRI HITS MAJOR MILESTONE WITH INDUSTRY DIGITAL FIRST INITIATIVE

Paperless Replacement Process Aims to Slash Processing Time

WASHINGTON, D.C. - An Insured Retirement Institute-led (IRI) effort to transform the annuity experience for consumers and financial professionals reached a historic milestone with the first adoption of a new paperless process for replacement annuity business. A "Carrier-to-Carrier Paperless Replacement Process" can help reduce transaction time from weeks to as fast as one day.

IRI's members and The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) have collaborated over the last two years to build a solution that leverages DTCC's position as the leading data exchange platform to create a real-time processing of transfers, including money settlement. DTCC recently announced that it had delivered this latest solution into production.

Athene, a leading annuities and retirement services provider, is the first IRI member to implement the new DTCC solution for paperless replacements.

"With the first IRI member to adopt this newly developed process, we have reached an important milestone for the insured retirement industry," said Wayne Chopus, President and CEO at IRI. "Our Digital First for Annuities initiative is improving the annuity experience by eliminating a significant manual, error-prone process that can extend transaction times up to sevenfold."

"Athene is an enthusiastic supporter of IRI's initiative, and we are implementing digital solutions to transform the annuity transfer experience for financial professionals and consumers," said Sandy Stokley, Senior Vice President, Operations at Athene. "We are grateful for DTCC's collaboration and our testing partners at Jackson National Life Insurance Company for helping us confirm and perfect this vital process."

In a recent IRI Vision blog post, Stokley noted that the most common complaint from carriers and distributors is the time-consuming nature of transfer business, often taking two to four weeks. Carrier-to-carrier aims to standardize processing initially to 48-72 hours by helping reduce manual processing, call volumes, and not-in-good-order (NIGO) business. Automation helps allow for better customer service and reduces calls to contact centers regarding transfer status.

"The time saved can be reallocated to higher-value tasks, improving the overall customer experience," she wrote. "In today's digital age, customers expect financial transactions to be completed easily and quickly"

Katherine Dease, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at IRI, said other transformative progress is underway. "Our industry has been discussing needed technology and data changes to improve the annuity experience for twenty years. Thanks to the commitment and leadership of the IRI Board of Directors and the collaboration with our members, we have made more progress in two years than in the past twenty. And more change is coming."

Several other IRI members, including Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Prudential Financial, and Sammons Financial, are expected to fully implement the paperless replacement process in early 2025. More companies anticipate implementation throughout next year.

"We are working with industry partners to develop common standards and rules of engagement that are critical for every stage in the annuity process," Dease noted. "Our goal is interconnectivity and interoperability among industry participants with a single method to deliver information per data request. Using this "build once, use many" approach, we can facilitate innovation, faster transactions, and easier management of annuity products."

"Our Digital First for Annuities initiative is making needed progress across many fronts," Chopus said. "When fully implemented and adopted, innovators will be able to build superior experiences that engage financial professionals and consumers in a more modernized, streamlined manner."

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Contact: Dan Zielinski

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