Black caucus members balk at DOL fiduciary rule

The Congressional Black Caucus is warning the Department of Labor that its plan to extend ERISA’s fiduciary standard to IRAs will hurt African-American savers.

In a March 15 letter to the DOL, eight members of the caucus, who are also members of the House Financial Services Committee—including Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., ranking member on the committee—said that if brokers who serve IRA accounts are held to “ERISA’s strict prohibitions on third-party compensation, they may choose to exit the market rather than risk the potentially severe penalties under ERISA for violations.” If that occurs, “it could cause IRA services to be unattainable by many retirement savers in the African-American community.”