On Tuesday, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) took official action to delay by 60 days the effective date of the Fiduciary Rule, created during the Obama administration. The DOL sent notification of its intention to delay the Rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. This is a positive step in light of President Trump’s Memorandum from February, directing DOL to review the legal and economic analysis underpinning the Obama-era Rule.
Unless delayed, DOL’s Fiduciary Rule will become effective on April 10, 2017. As NTU has explained, the current version of the Fiduciary Rule would raise costs for investors and retirees and limit access to one-on-one retirement advice, especially for those with lower account balances.
Long term, we believe the Rule needs to be either significantly pared back or withdrawn entirely. In order to create breathing room to comply with the President’s directive, NTU urges OMB to act quickly so that DOL can publish the 60 day delay before April 10th.