DOL Issues
So what plans ARE covered by the fiduciary rule? MarketBeat features a blog post by Fred Reish (with help from some of his colleagues at Drinker Biddle) addresses that question, as well as which plans the rule does not cover.
READ MORE
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on Sept. 15 announced that it has extended the employee benefit plan compliance guidance and relief it issued for victims of Hurricane Harvey to those affected by Hurricane Irma. Verification procedures for plan loans and...
READ MORE
The U.S. House on Sept. 14 passed a bill that contains a sentence that seeks to do away with the fiduciary regulation — with language that some might find eerily prophetic.H.R. 3354, which would fund government operations for fiscal year 2018, makes a brief, but powerful, statement about the...
READ MORE
The American Retirement Association, parent organization of the NTSA, has weighed in on extending the special transition period under the Best Interest Contract Exemption (and related exemptions).Consistent with its earlier comments, the comment letter directed to the Labor Department supports a...
READ MORE
Hurricanes, epic floods, wildfires… we seem to be awash in natural disasters. They pose many dangers and risks, including the threat they can pose to a retirement plan — and, ultimately, its participants and their dependents.There are steps that plans, employers, service providers and...
READ MORE
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says that, “Contrary to the alarmist claims of their lobbyists and the conclusions of opaque industry-funded studies,” financial firms are “fully ready” to comply with the fiduciary rule — and you don’t need to take her word for it.Warren, an early and enthusiastic...
READ MORE
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta will meet Sept. 5 with representatives of companies that oppose the Obama administration’s fiduciary rule, according to a published report.Politico Pro, citing two sources familiar with the matter, says the meeting at the Labor Department will include...
READ MORE
The Labor Department says it won’t enforce a provision of the fiduciary rule’s arbitration ban.The stance, published Aug. 30 in Field Assistance Bulletin 2017-03, was first revealed in a brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Chamber of Commerce v. Acosta, where the Labor...
READ MORE
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has made a quick response to the Labor Department’s request for a delay in the full BIC applicability date.In an update posted on the OMB site on August 28, the concluded action is noted as “Consistent With Change.” The OMB review, which frequently takes as...
READ MORE
In a written response to a judge in litigation involving the fiduciary rule’s anti-arbitration provision, the Labor Department says the provision will “likely be mooted in the near future.”The letter (Thrivent Fin. for Lutherans v. Acosta, D. Minn., No. 0:16-cv-03289-SRN-DTS, letter to judge filed...
READ MORE
A client was taken over by another firm. They are preparing the plan 5500 and seek information regarding the old voluntary part of the 403(b) plan. In Tech Talk, Susan Diehl tells us how Form 5500 reporting should be handled in such a situation.
READ MORE
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Aug. 9 proposal that the transition period and full Best Interest Contract (BIC) applicability date of the fiduciary rule be delayed 18 months to July 1, 2019 no doubt was hailed by some as good news. But such a reaction is not universal.The Economic Policy Institute...
READ MORE
Compliance with the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule has reduced access to brokerage advice services and choice, cost billions, and disrupted retirement savers, according to a new study. The study, commissioned by long-time opponent and fiduciary rule litigant SIFMA and conducted by Deloitte...
READ MORE
The Labor Department has submitted a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend the transition period and full BIC applicability date of the fiduciary regulation. The notice – which indicates that the Labor Department intends to push back to July 1, 2019 the full Best Interest...
READ MORE
The Labor Department has issued a new set of FAQs on the fiduciary regulation that embraces the recommendations made by the ARA/NAPA Government Affairs Committee (GAC) in a recent comment letter. To recap, the 408(b)(2) regulation requires certain service providers to ERISA-governed retirement...
READ MORE
The Labor Department has filed for a stay of proceedings in litigation challenging the fiduciary regulation.“Here, a stay of proceedings would be the most efficient use of judicial resources,” the Labor Department noted, going on to state that the plaintiff in the case (Thrivent Financial for...
READ MORE
A group of lawmakers has responded to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) request for information (RFI) on the fiduciary regulation delay — by expressing concern that the RFI would be used as a pretext for revising the final rule.The group of Democratic Senators and Representatives — Sens. Patty Murray...
READ MORE
The House Education and the Workforce Committee approved legislation July 19 that would repeal the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary regulation.Not surprisingly, the 23-17 vote in support of the Affordable Retirement Advice for Savers Act (H.R. 2823) fell along party lines. The bill was...
READ MORE
In a July 18 letter responding to the Labor Department’s request for information (RFI) on its fiduciary regulation, the American Retirement Association (ARA) has requested an extension of the applicability date — and a streamlined levelized fee exemption.Level ‘Better’The ARA had authored — and...
READ MORE
The House Education and the Workforce Committee on July 19 will markup the Affordable Retirement Advice for Savers Act, a bill that would repeal the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule.In a committee press release announcing the markup, Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) noted that the bill...
READ MORE
Pages
Most Popular
