A bill for an act relating to the applicability of the standard nonforfeiture law for individual deferred annuities to contingent deferred annuities. (Formerly SSB 3064.) Effective date: 07/01/2026.
Summary
Senate File 2215 amends Iowa’s insurance code to clarify how the state’s standard nonforfeiture law applies to contingent deferred annuities. The bill states that the nonforfeiture provisions in section 508.38 generally do not apply to contingent deferred annuities, while preserving the Insurance Commissioner’s authority to adopt rules establishing nonforfeiture benefits for those products if the commissioner determines they are equitable to policyholders, appropriate to the risks insured, and consistent with the statute’s general intent.
In practical terms, the bill narrows the automatic application of existing nonforfeiture requirements for certain annuity products and gives the commissioner discretion to tailor protections through rulemaking. It is effective July 1, 2026, and amends the statutory framework governing deferred annuities and related insurance contracts in Iowa.
Impact
The bill changes Iowa Code section 508.38 by expressly excluding contingent deferred annuities from the standard nonforfeiture law’s subsections 2 through 7, unless the Insurance Commissioner adopts rules providing otherwise. This affects insurers offering contingent deferred annuities, policyholders purchasing those products, and the Iowa Insurance Division’s regulatory authority. It does not broadly rewrite annuity law, but it does create a specific carve-out and preserves administrative flexibility to set product-specific nonforfeiture standards.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Senate Commerce Report unanimously and then cleared both chambers by unanimous floor votes, indicating strong bipartisan agreement and little visible opposition. The absence of committee testimony or recorded debate in the provided materials suggests the measure was viewed as a technical or clarifying insurance regulation rather than a contested policy change.
Contention
No notable substantive contention is reflected in the available record. The only potentially sensitive issue is the balance between consumer protection and regulatory flexibility: the bill removes automatic statutory nonforfeiture coverage for contingent deferred annuities, but it also authorizes the commissioner to impose equitable benefits by rule. Any concern would likely come from whether policyholders of these products should receive the same baseline protections as other deferred annuity holders, while insurers may favor the clearer exemption and tailored rulemaking approach.
Related
A bill for an act relating to the applicability of the standard nonforfeiture law for individual deferred annuities to contingent deferred annuities.(See SF 2215.)
A bill for an act relating to the applicability of the standard nonforfeiture law for individual deferred annuities to contingent deferred annuities.(Formerly HSB 525.)
A bill for an act relating to the applicability of the standard nonforfeiture law for individual deferred annuities to contingent deferred annuities.(See SF 2215.)
A bill for an act relating to the applicability of the standard nonforfeiture law for individual deferred annuities to contingent deferred annuities.(See HF 2184.)
Exempting contingent deferred annuities from certain requirements of the standard nonforfeiture law for individual deferred annuities act and authorizing the commissioner of insurance to establish nonforfeiture benefits for such contingent deferred annuities through rules and regulations.