Democratic US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected on Thursday to announce whether she will retire from Congress or seek another term as party leader, after Republicans were projected to have won majority control of the chamber in last week's elections.
Ms Pelosi, 82, and two other top leaders have been under pressure over the past few years from younger House Democrats to yield power after two decades at the helm.
“The speaker plans to address her future plans tomorrow to her colleagues. Stay tuned,” Ms Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said in a post on Twitter late on Wednesday.
Her decision may have a bearing on whether departing House Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, 83, and Democratic Whip James Clyburn, 82, will seek top Democratic positions in the new Congress that convenes on January 3.
Ms Pelosi, the first female speaker of the US House of Representatives, said late on Wednesday that House Democrats “will continue to play a leading role in supporting President Biden’s agenda — with strong leverage over a scant Republican majority”.
She did not specifically address her role going forward but in recent days has noted that the violent assault on her husband Paul by an intruder in their San Francisco home, and other factors, would affect her decision.
Ms Pelosi “has been overwhelmed by calls from colleagues, friends and supporters”, Mr Hammill wrote.
President Joe Biden has also voiced his support for her.
She was first elected to the House in 1987 and steadily moved up the ranks, securing leadership positions before winning her first term as speaker in 2007.
Along with Mr Biden, who turns 80 this weekend, the Democrats' ageing leadership has raised questions about its next generation even as Americans are living longer.
The highest-ranking and most powerful elected woman in US history until Kamala Harris became vice president in January 2021, Ms Pelosi has twice served as leader of the House, first from 2007 to 2011 as Democrats took advantage of widespread opposition to the Iraq war to control of the chamber.
She took the gavel again in 2019 when Democrats rode a wave of opposition to then-president Donald Trump to win control of the House and was re-elected speaker in November 2021.
House Democrats are set to vote on their leaders on November 30.
On Wednesday, House Republicans offered initial support for Kevin McCarthy to serve as speaker when the next Congress is sworn in.
Reuters contributed to this report
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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