Glossary

Regulation Best Interest is a 2019 rule of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, effective June 30, 2020, that establishes a best-interest standard of conduct for broker-dealers and associated persons when recommending any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities to a retail customer. Why it matters Regulation Best Interest replaced the suitability standard for broker-dealer recommendations to retail customers, raising the substantive bar and intro

Replacement rate is the ratio of an individual's retirement income to their pre-retirement income, typically expressed as a percentage, used to assess whether income produced in retirement maintains the standard of living established during working years. Why it matters The replacement rate is the most commonly cited adequacy metric in retirement planning, public-policy analysis, and DC plan participant communications. Standard benchmarks — 70%, 75%, 80% — appear across policy lit

Replacements and exchanges are the regulatory category covering transactions in which an existing annuity or life insurance contract is replaced by, or exchanged for, a new contract — governed by state adoptions of the NAIC Replacement of Life Insurance and Annuities Model Regulation, which imposes specific disclosure, notification, and suitability requirements distinct from those applicable to first-purchase transactions. Why it matters Replacement transactions are a regulatory c

A required minimum distribution is the minimum amount that must be distributed annually from certain tax-qualified retirement accounts and tax-deferred arrangements once the account owner reaches the age specified by current law, calculated under formulas set by the Internal Revenue Code. Why it matters Required minimum distributions are the mechanism by which the federal tax code treats accumulated tax deferral as a finite arrangement rather than an indefinite one — at a statutor