Legislation stalls, but regulatory agencies will keep retirement industry busy
Upcoming Labor Department rule redefining the term fiduciary is likely to be among the most closely watched rules.
BBB may not pass, but ESG and DEI are sure to keep retirement and benefit managers busy during the coming months, analysts predicted this week. The Biden Administration’s Build Back Better legislation stalled at the end of last year and may not be enacted. But analysts from Mercer and Morningstar predicted that the focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, and in particular upcoming rules redefining fiduciary and expanding how environmental, social and governance issues may be considered in retirement plans, will keep the retirement and benefits industry busy.
The regulatory agencies may be busier than Congress, as members focus on their reelection campaigns, said Aron Szapiro, head of retirement studies and public policy at Morningstar said in an interview.
“Regulatory actions will be shifting [from Congress] over to the regulatory agencies,” he said.
Szapiro said the upcoming Labor Department rule redefining the term fiduciary is likely to be among the most closely watched rules.
And then, there’s ESG.
“Educate yourself about how the ESG landscape has changed,” said Katie Hockenmaier, a partner at Mercer, told those attending a webinar on the legislative and regulatory landscape.
Szapiro agreed that whatever the Labor Department does is likely to have a major impact.
“That’s going to be a big deal,” Szapiro said. The Labor Department currently is evaluating thousands of comments it received on its plan to allow ESG issues to play a larger role in the retirement benefits industry.
“This has become a highly polarizing and political issue,” he said, adding that the issue is likely to end up in court. He said that there may be “a fair amount of grandstanding” by members of Congress, but legislative changes to whatever the Labor Department releases is unlikely. “You still have a Democrat in the White House,” he said. If Congress enacted limits on ESG, Biden could simply veto the legislation.
On the legislative front, Congress may tackle some parts of the Build Back Better plan, said Amy Reynolds, a partner at Mercer. She said some lawmakers who are retiring may be interested in trying to enact what she called “SECURE 2.0,” changes or additions to the SECURE Act. For instance, she said there may be interest in allowing plan sponsors to match an employee’s student loan repayment and apply it to their 401(k).
And regarding the SECURE Act, she said, the Internal Revenue Service will be issuing guidance implementing the law.
Szapiro said there may be a handful of smaller retirement proposals attached to end-of-year spending bills but added that debate time in Congress will be somewhat limited by the schedule.
“It’s really hard to get floor time,” he said