WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET TO REVIEW HARMFUL LABOR DEPARTMENT FIDUCIARY INVESTMENT ADVICE RULE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) issued a statement today from Wayne Chopus, President and CEO, on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) decision to send the final version of its unnecessary and harmful “Retirement Security” proposed rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.

“IRI is dismayed that the Administration has decided to move forward with its fiduciary investment advice rule despite the evidence presented to DOL about the significant, unnecessary harm this rule will cause to retirement savers and concerns raised by members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.

As proposed, the rule fails to consider the diverse needs of retirement savers and the impact it will have on the ability of workers and retirees to realize the benefits of the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act.

If the final rule is substantially similar to the proposed version, millions of consumers would lose access to valuable lifetime income products and affordable professional guidance to help them knowledgeably acquire and use those products.

Throughout this rulemaking process, DOL refused to acknowledge that its proposal will harm consumers. The proposal is functionally equivalent to the now-vacated 2016 rule, and like that rule, it will significantly harm retirement savers, especially lower- and middle-income workers, and further exacerbate the wealth gap for Black and Latino families.

Moreover, the DOL proposal ignores the existence and effectiveness of the enhanced federal and state consumer protection regulations that have been enacted since the earlier failed fiduciary rule. Those new protections require financial professionals to act in clients’ best interests, and there is no evidence to suggest they are not working.

We have repeatedly said that DOL should withdraw this proposal, and IRI urges the President and OMB to reject the harmful policies embedded in the proposed rule.

If the President and OMB fail to stop this proposal, Congress must act to protect retirement savers and ensure the benefits of the bipartisan SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act are not in any way jeopardized by this rule.

Our collective goal should be to build on those laws’ progress and to enforce the existing, enhanced federal and state regulatory framework that protects consumers, not advance regulations that will result in widespread retirement insecurity for America’s workers and retirees.

The rulemaking record includes extensive evidence that this rulemaking will harm American workers and retirees. The President and OMB must not allow DOL to finalize this rule.”

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Contact: Dan Zielinski