A bipartisan group of 21 House members yesterday called on the Department of Labor to re-propose its controversial proposal redefining who counts as a fiduciary now that the comment period has closed. “There is a strong possibility that a final rule may widely differ in its substance from the initial proposal or contain provisions that were not part of the proposed regulation,” the lawmakers said, arguing that DOL should re-propose the rule before finalizing it in order to ensure sufficient input through the notice-and-comment process.
The House members called on DOL not to “impose further burdens on middle-class Americans and unnecessarily disrupt existing relationships that they have developed with their financial advisors… We are concerned that the rule in its current form could have a disparate impact on access, choice and costs for millions of low- and middle-income Americans saving for their retirement.”
The proposed 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.
