A group of Republican senators are urging newly-confirmed Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta to delay implementation of the DOL’s fiduciary rule until after an extensive review has been conducted.
The fiduciary rule requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients in retirement accounts. DOL already pushed back the original implementation date of the rule from April 10 to June 9.
“The final rule harms Individual Retirement Account (IRA) owners by interfering with owners’ access to investment education… [It also] makes illogical distinctions between the same educational services for different types of retirement accounts,” the senators wrote. “These harmful distinctions will result in advisers who want to avoid legal liability being unwilling to provide general education to IRA owners who, as a result, may be less informed as they make crucial decisions on how to best invest their IRA savings for retirement.”
The letter was signed by Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Michael Enzi (R-WY), Richard Burr (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Todd Young (R-IN), and Pat Roberts (R-KS).
“We believe that individuals who provide investment advice should act in the best interests of their clients. However, regulatory mandates must not stand in the way of Americans’ access to retirement education or services,” the group said.