Final DOL Fiduciary Rule Likely Out This Year

The Labor Department’s revised fiduicary rule proposal will likely be finalized this year, with a Jan. 1, 2025, effective date, according to ERISA attorneys.

During their Inside the Beltway webcast Thursday, Fred Reish and Brad Campbell, partners at Faegre Drinker, agreed that Labor will likely file its revised fiduciary plan with the Office of Management and Budget for review likely by May — with a final rule released by Labor sometime this summer.

That timeline “seems to be driven, in part, by the elections,” Campbell said. The current administration “is going to want this rule in place by Jan. 1 so that regardless who wins, it’s an issue that’s already taken effect.”

A Labor spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor via email “EBSA is proceeding with our work on this rulemaking with the goal of best protecting the retirement funds of America’s workers when they receive investment advice. It is premature to say what provisions may be included in a final rule.”

Two of the most controversial sections of the rule continue to be the “definition of a single recommendation as fiduciary advice, and the impact [of the rule] on independent insurance agents,” Reish stated.

The comment period on Labor’s plan ended Jan. 2. Labor has been busy reviewing more than 19,000 comments.

Campbell, a former head of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, stated on the webcast Labor’s plan is ”extremely controversial.”

Labor is “trying to move this regulation along very quickly,” Campbell said.

Congressional Interest

“There is a lot of controversy and a lot of congressional interest in the rule,” Campbell continued.