Preston Rutledge, the head of EBSA Preston Rutledge, the head of EBSA (Photo: Shawn T. Moore/DOL)

Besides prioritizing the executive orders that were issued by President Donald Trump late last year on strengthening retirement security, the Labor Department is zeroing in on missing participants, with “sub-regulatory guidance” for plan sponsors in this area in the works, Preston Rutledge, assistant secretary for Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, said Tuesday.

Speaking at the National Institute on Retirement Security policy conference in Washington, Rutledge said that since his arrival a year ago, Labor's “regulatory priorities are driven” by the executive orders, which address two issues: Clarifying and expanding the ability to offer multiple employer plans, or MEPs, and “to complete a review of action” on required retirement plan disclosures for participants.

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Melanie Waddell

Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2024. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.