ABA yesterday repeated its call for the Department of Labor to extend the comment period for its rule redefining who counts as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The rule would expand the types of retirement advice subject to fiduciary duty to cover anyone receiving compensation for advice that is “individualized or specifically directed” to a retirement plan sponsor, plan participant or individual retirement account owner.
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez has said he is not inclined to grant an extension to the 75-day comment period, but ABA noted that the department provided a longer period when it first proposed a fiduciary definition rule in 2010. “In preparing a written response, the public needs adequate time to read, understand, analyze, and evaluate the proposal’s roughly 700 pages,” ABA said.
ABA also urged DoL to hold an in-person briefing to help ABA better understand the complex proposal and formulate its position. For more information, contact ABA’s Tim Keehan.
