Request denied! DOL says no extension on fiduciary rule comment period
After 18 financial groups asked for a 60-day extension for the DOL’s proposed new fiduciary rule last week, the department told them it is not warranted, reiterating that comments are still due Jan. 2.
The Department of Labor denied a request made by 18 trade organizations last week seeking to extend the comment period for the proposed Retirement Security Rule. The proposed rule would define who is an investment advice fiduciary under ERISA and make exemption conditions more uniform in an effort to protect retirement investors. The Biden Administration announced the Retirement Security Rule Oct. 31.
In a letter dated Nov. 14, Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Lisa M. Gomez told the requesters an extension is not warranted because EBSA believes its current proposal reflects significant input already received from public engagement over 13 years. The department scheduled a virtual hearing Dec. 12 and Dec. 13 and, reiterating its Jan. 2, 2024 comment deadline, encouraged plan officials, plan participants, IRA owners, investment advice providers and other interested parties to submit comments and participate in the hearing.
“The hearing will provide interested parties with a full opportunity to provide important public input that will inform the Department of Labor’s next steps in the rulemaking process for the proposal,” said Gomez.
The requesters described the comment period as “brief” and “unprecedented,” saying it provided only 39 work days spanning multiple federally recognized holidays to analyze the 500-page proposal. The coalition of signers included the American Benefits Council, the Financial Services Institute (FSI), the Insured Retirement Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“The Biden Administration’s rejection of a reasonable request to extend the time for all interested stakeholders to comment on a proposed rule that we know will cause harm to millions of retirement savers is disconcerting and frustrating,” said Wayne Chopus, president and CEO of IRI, in a statement. “Such a short comment period for major federal rulemaking does not allow for meaningful public engagement.”
Allison Wielobob, general counsel of the American Retirement Association, said although DOL cited significant input from the public since 2010, the industry did not know until Halloween what the rule would actually say.
“And while I don’t doubt that 13 years of evolving guidance has brought a good part of the regulated community to DOL’s doorstep, certainly not all who are interested have had the same opportunities to make their voices heard, for one reason or another,” said Wielobob.
Related: Biden cracks down on ‘junk fees’ in 401(k) plans with proposed DOL fiduciary rule
Meanwhile, House Republicans worked this week to stymie implementation of the rule via proposed amendments to the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5894). The amendments seek to block funding for the fiduciary rule proposal.
Even before the amendments were proposed, President Biden had vowed to veto H.R. 5894. In a Statement of Administration Policy, the administration said it “strongly opposes sections 117, 118, and 119 of the bill, which would prevent DOL from using funds to administer, implement, or enforce rules providing critical protections of workers’ wages and retirement plans.”