DOL Fiduciary News: June 1, 2016

Please Note:

These links will take you directly to the homepage of the website that features the article.

To reach the article directly, copy and paste the article title into the search feature on the homepage of the publication website.

Obama Retirement-Savings Rule Faces Industry-Led Court Battle

The Wall Street Journal; May 31, 2016 3:39 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — Big business and financial industry trade groups are taking to the courts to block a controversial Obama administration rule shaking up the way Americans receive retirement investment advice, having failed in their long-running fight to stop the regulations in the bureaucracy, or in Congress.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, are preparing to file a lawsuit as early as Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter. As many as three other trade groups will likely also join the lawsuit, these people said.
(http://online.wsj.com)

Who will enforce the DOL rule? 

BenefitsPro.com; June 1, 2016

The question of how the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule will be enforced was the “most difficult” challenge regulators faced in crafting the rule, according to Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis Borzi.

The head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration addressed fiduciaries and consumer advocates in Philadelphia this week, at an event hosted by the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, a think tank that advocates for a fiduciary standard of care on all investment advice.

Borzi, who heads the team charged with enforcing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, said that the new fiduciary rule’s application to employer-sponsored retirement plans will be seamless, given the agency’s statutory authority through ERISA.
(http://www.benefitspro.com)