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Fall Foliage? Fiduciary FAQs

The comment periods and hearings are long over, and the implementation of the fiduciary rule nears. But that doesn’t mean that the Department of Labor has a deaf ear, nor that it won’t provide some further guidance on how to comply.

The DOL “now seeks to help people understand the rule,” according to Joe Canary, office director for the Office of Regulations and Interpretations of the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. Speaking at a Sept. 20 session of the NAPA D.C. Fly-In Forum in Washington, D.C., Canary said that the agency is “interested in the next-level priorities” of the advisor and recordkeeping community regarding the rule.

And that help could come soon. Canary told attendees that “our target is the fall” for providing “next-level guidance” on the rule. “We’ve been working on the guidance for a while,” he noted, adding that the DOL “understands the sentiment that ‘the sooner the better.’”

The new guidance likely will take the form of rounds of frequently asked questions. He said that the DOL “wants to make sure that the first round addresses issues important to those who must comply with the rule.”

And while the official comment period and hearings are long since over, the DOL remains interested in what people are thinking. “We are continuing to be open to public input” in the post-final rule stage, Canary said.

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