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Regulation and Compliance > Federal Regulation > DOL

18 Trade Groups Press DOL to Extend Fiduciary Rule Comment Period

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Eighteen financial services trade groups pressed the Labor Department Wednesday to extend the 60-day comment period on its new fiduciary rule, the Retirement Security Rule, and amendments to the prohibited transaction exemptions, as the plan “makes significant and unanticipated changes to the current regulatory framework.”

The proposed rule “will require significantly more time for meaningful analysis and comment,” the groups said, noting that they need more time “to understand how this proposal would impact access and choice for retirement savers.”

Groups signing the letter include the Financial Services Institute, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the American Benefits Council, the American Bankers Association and the American Council of Life Insurers.

The proposals include a 60-day period for public comments, ending Jan. 2.

Labor also intends to hold a public hearing approximately 45 days after the proposals were published, which was on Oct. 31.

The brief 60-day comment period for a proposed rule on the definition of a fiduciary, the groups asserted, “is unprecedented.”

When the 2010 fiduciary rule was released, Labor initially allowed for a 90-day comment period, followed by a 14-day extension, the groups pointed out.

DOL then held a public hearing, followed by a 15-day comment period for response.

“For the 2016 Fiduciary Rule and Related Exemptions, DOL allowed a 75-day comment period and granted a 15-day extension,” the groups told Lisa Gomez, assistant secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration. “After a public hearing, there was then another 15-day comment period.”

Labor should again provide at least a similar comment period, “especially for a proposal that is nearly 500 pages long,” the groups wrote.

Publishing the proposed rule in the Federal Register means that the comment period will fall over multiple federally recognized holidays, the groups added. “This only further complicates and limits the ability of industry stakeholders and other interested parties to provide meaningful input” on the proposed rule.

Holding a public hearing approximately 45 days after the proposed rule’s publication “effectively shortens the 60-day comment period for those who request to testify at the hearing because they will need to prepare their comments in time for the hearing,” the groups contend.

A hearing “after the end of the comment period would allow for DOL to ask questions about the comments that they have received, fostering clarification and better understanding,” the groups told Gomez. “Commenters would also be able to provide feedback to the department on the input provided by others.”

The groups urged DOL to grant at least a 60-day extension of the comment period for the and to schedule the public hearing for a date after the initial comment period closes, followed by an additional 30-day comment period.


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