In a letter today to Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, a group of more than 100 Republican lawmakers called for a delay to the fiduciary rule, which expands the definition of “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. The implementation of the rule was recently postponed for 60 days following a White House memorandum.
Lawmakers expressed concern that the rule would affect small- and medium-sized investors’ ability to access financial advice, pointing to several brokerage firms and insurance companies that have already exited business lines or scaled back product offerings as a result of the rule.
The American Bankers Association has long advocated for changes to the fiduciary rule and a longer implementation period to allow banks of all sizes time to comply. Together with several other trade associations last week, ABA requested a meeting with Acosta to determine a path forward to ensure that retirement savers are not negatively affected by the rule.
