Ninety-six House Democrats wrote to Labor Secretary Tom Perez on Wednesday urging changes to DoL’s controversial proposed rule redefining who counts as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. “We continue to hear from constituents, academics, providers and investors that there are specific provisions of the rule that may cause market disruptions and limit the availability of segments of the market to reasonable access advice,” they wrote.
Among the changes, the lawmakers called on DoL to make the rule’s “best interest contract” exemption less prescriptive and more principles-based and to widen the rule’s tight restrictions on investor education. They also urged DoL to provide a “safe harbor for good-faith implementation, especially given the complexity of the rule.”
ABA has strongly urged DoL to withdraw its proposed rule, arguing that it would hinder banks’ ability to offer 401(k)s, IRAs and retirement financial planning to their customers and thus limit the choices available to everyday retirement savers.
