As critical, the group’s members are by and large not registered investment advisors, but rather insurance agents and broker-dealer reps who are not required to adhere to a fiduciary standard when working with customers.

Fighting to retain use of the “advisor/adviser” moniker without additional regulation or exclusions that may block NAIFA members from offering advice is critically important to Americans’ ability to retire, Boyle said.

Restricting the advice that agents can deliver goes beyond hurting agents, she argued. It has a domino effect that reduces the availability of products and services to lower- and middle-income investors, Boyle argued.

“We saw this with the DOL rule. Until we know the DOL won’t appeal to the Supreme Court, which is unlikely, financial institutions who were complying with the rule are reluctant to make products and services available again to the middle markets,” she said. “This has the exact opposite effect of what such a rule intends -- it hurts the middle market instead of protecting it.”

In response to the DOL rule, Boyle said some financial services companies withdrew from the middle market space entirely, while others worked with middle-income consumers through websites and call centers only. Still others put in product investment minimums that excluded the middle market and encouraged advisors and agents to work with wealthier individuals, she said.

With 10,000 Americans retiring daily, anything that impairs agents’ and brokers’ ability to provide products and advice to help customers save for their golden years is a mistake, NAIFA lobbyists and executives said throughout the group’s public policy conference in Washington, DC May 22.

To hammer that point home to the SEC regarding its “best interest” proposal, NAIFA lobbyists have met with two SEC commissioners, the counsel of a third commissioner and SEC Chairman Jay Clayton himself. A meeting with a fourth SEC commissioner is in the works, Boyle said.

“We are actively participating in meetings to make sure that regulation does not restrict access to advice,” Boyle added.