NAIFA is pleased to announce five new inductees into the NAIFA Hall of Fame. The NAIFA Board of Trustees authorized the creation of the Hall of Fame last year to recognize and celebrate members whose extraordinary service and contributions represent the legacy of the most accomplished, impactful, and inspirational members of the NAIFA family.

The 2025 NAIFA Hall of Fame Inductees are:

• Peter C. Browne, LUTCF*
• Ben Feldman*
• Terry K. Headley, LUTCF, FSS, LIC*
• Robert M. Nelson, CLU, LUTCF, FSS
• Lester A. Rosen*

With great sadness, we share the news that NAIFA Past President Mark D. Johnson, CLU, RHU, ChFC, passed away on July 28. He served as President of NAIFA (then known as NALU) during the 1997-1998 association year and was the Chair of Life Happens (then, the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education) in 2006. While a member of NAIFA’s Board of Trustees in the mid-1990s, he led an important Strategic Planning Task Force that shaped the association’s direction for many years to follow. After his term as President, Mark continued as a volunteer leader providing guidance for NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine. Prior to his national leadership, Mark was President of NAIFA-Minnesota and NAIFA-Lake Superior.

NAIFA’s Committee on Governance has nominated Carina Hatfield, LUTCF, CLCS, LACP, agency owner of Weigner Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. in Pottstown, Penn., to be the 2026 NAIFA Secretary. Hatfield, who currently serves on the Life Happens Council and NAIFA’s National Membership Committee and Government Relations Committee, is a NAIFA-National Trustee and Past President of NAIFA-Pennsylvania. She has been a NAIFA member since 2005. As incoming Secretary, Hatfield will be in line to serve as President-Elect in 2027 and President in 2028.

Robert A. Miller, M.S., M.A., of New York City and Vero Beach, Florida, a retired Managing Partner at Miller-Pomerantz Insurance and Financial Services in New York City and NAIFA Past President, has been selected as the 2025 John Newton Russell Memorial Award recipient. The award is the highest honor accorded by the insurance industry to a living individual who has rendered outstanding services to the institution of life insurance. Miller will be celebrated and formally presented the award at NAIFA’s Belong Dinner, October 14 in Arlington, Virginia.

As more states launch automatic retirement savings programs for private-sector workers, the national conversation around retirement readiness is growing. A recent article in Stateline explores how states like Nevada and Colorado are addressing this issue through auto-IRA programs designed to reach workers without access to employer-sponsored plans.

NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux’s latest column, The Bipartisan Kindness of Caregiving, is featured in InsuranceNewsNet. In this piece, Kevin brings national attention to the financial burden faced by millions of Americans who care for aging parents and loved ones. His message is clear: Caregiving is both an act of love and a financial challenge that deserves bipartisan legislative support.

Call for Nominees: 2025 NAIFA National Quality Award
Application Deadline: July 31, 2025

Social Security remains one of the most important and often misunderstood components of retirement income planning. For financial professionals, helping clients navigate the complex claiming rules and optimize their benefits can make a meaningful difference in their long-term financial security.

Join us on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm Eastern for a webinar with Martha Shedden, RSSA, CRPC, President and Co-founder of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts. This webinar is free for both members and non-members, thanks to co-sponsorship by RSSA.

In his column published in both the print and digital editions of NJBiz, NAIFA national Trustee Dennis Cuccinelli, a member of NAIFA-New Jersey, warns that the state's proposed reclassification of insurance agents as employees instead of independent contractors would limit agents' independence, reduce consumer choice and potentially harm families' access to financial protection.

NAIFA is pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of the Foundation for Financial Service Professionals’ Paul S. Mills Scholarships and the inaugural Eileen J. Prus and Edmund O. Ciske Jr.-designated Paul S. Mills Scholarship. This annual program provides need-based scholarships to students pursuing degrees in financial service-related fields. Each of the 12 recipients receives a $1,000 scholarship.