The Department of Labor has announced that it will not re-propose a fiduciary rule for advisors who sell and service retirement plans until January 2015 at the earliest. DOL did not provide a reason for the delay, but NAIFA along with other industry groups and members of Congress have asked DOL to meet with stakeholders and coordinate with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is considering an advisor fiduciary rule of its own. DOL needs to ensure that any proposed rule does not increase costs or limit access to investment advice for retirement savers.
“NAIFA welcomes the Department of Labor’s decision to take a more measured approach,” said NAIFA President John Nichols. “Registered representatives with clients saving for retirement provide important services to people who may have nowhere else to turn for products and advice. These advisors are already among the most tightly regulated professionals in the financial services sector, so it is important that any new regulations address real problems in the marketplace and do not harm consumers.”
NAIFA has been in meetings with 35 members of Congress in the past six weeks to express concerns that a poorly conceived DOL fiduciary rule could limit consumers’ access to retirement advice. NAIFA also emailed 513 congressional legislative directors, telling them that a DOL rule prohibiting access to professional guidance, advice and products from advisors paid by commissions would harm millions of consumers who currently benefit from such services.
Last week, some 700 NAIFA members visited with members of Congress from every state as part of NAIFA’s Congressional Conference grassroots event.
DOL originally proposed a fiduciary rule in 2010, but withdrew the proposal amid congressional criticism that the department had not studied the potential impact of the regulation on consumers.