Life Insurers to Meet With White House Office on DOL Fiduciary Rule

The American Council of Life Insurers is making a new effort to shape the U.S. Department of Labor’s fiduciary definition proposals.

The life insurer group plans to meet with regulation reviewers at the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on April 9, according to a record on the Office of Management and Budget website.

The meeting was requested by Jim Szostek, an ACLI vice president who works on retirement security issues. The ACLI last met with OIRA over the fiduciary proposal effort in October.

What it means: The ACLI will have a chance to push for fiduciary proposal changes that could make the effects less painful.

OIRA: OIRA is a division of the Office of Management and Budget, part of the Executive Office of the President, that helps OMB review federal agencies’ proposed regulations.

OIRA analysts estimate the economic benefits and costs of proposals, looking at the paperwork burden that might be associated with individuals’ and organizations’ efforts to comply with the regulations.

DOL fiduciary definition proposals: The Labor Department has recently revived efforts to  create an “investment advice fiduciary” definition. The definition would apply a fiduciary standard to advice on rollovers of assets from 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts and other retirement savings arrangements that benefit from special federal tax treatment.

The proposal could require annuity professionals who help with rollovers to put the clients’ interests first.