Legal Seminar Reservation Deadline Is Monday

There is still time to register for NOLHGA’s 18th Annual Legal Seminar and secure a hotel room at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. The last day to receive the special NOLHGA room rate is Monday, June 21; after that date, NOLHGA’s room block will be released.

Please note that NOLHGA’s initial room block has sold out; however, additional rooms were added to the block at the discounted rate of $259/night plus tax. Those rooms are now filling up quickly.

NOLHGA’s 2010 Legal Seminar will be held on July 15–16 at New York’s Marriott Marquis in Times Square (an MPC meeting will be held on July 13 and 14). The program includes cutting-edge topics such as health-care reform, financial regulatory reform, risk management for board members, and prepackaged bankruptcies. CLE credit will be available in all states requiring CLE. Registration is currently available at NOLHGA’s meeting Web page.

Senator Kohl Requests Study of GA Annuity Coverage

At a June 16, 2010, hearing of the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging touching on annuities and other lifetime income options, Committee Chair Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) announced that he had sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that it conduct a review of how current regulatory structures ensure that institutions that sell annuities will be able to meet the financial commitments they entail and the types of state guarantee funds that exist to protect purchasers of annuities. The review would include how the funds are structured, how they are monitored, and the circumstances under which they have been used to compensate owners of annuities.

The government’s interest in annuities as a retirement vehicle is one of the factors that led to the development of NOLHGA’s Guaranty Association Laws Committee (chaired by Merle Pederson of Principal Financial Group), which is working to bring about greater consistency in guaranty association laws, including annuity benefit provisions. More information on the committee can be found in the June 2010 issue of the NOLHGA Journal, which will be mailed to subscribers next week.

January 2011 Meeting Dates & Location Confirmed

NOLHGA is pleased to announce that the January 2011 MPC meeting will be held on January 10-12 at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables in Coral Gables, Florida. Additional information on this and other MPC meetings will appear in the NOLHGA Wire as it becomes available.