EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a follow-up to a feature story about the significance of the 2020 election results in the Winter issue of NAPA Net the Magazine.
Since the Winter 2020 issue of NAPA Net the Magazine went to print in early December, it has become clear that former Vice President Joe Biden will be the 46th U.S. President, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of the runoff elections for the two Georgia Senate seats.
Those elections are set for Jan. 5, 2021, and will ultimately decide which party controls the Senate for the 117th Congress. This could not only make or break President-elect Biden’s legislative agenda—including ambitious retirement policy changes—but could also have far-ranging repercussions for Biden’s cabinet picks, judicial nominations and regulations subject to congressional review.
And while the Democrats retained their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the GOP picked up at least 13 seats, leading to the slimmest House majority in the past two decades. Democrats currently hold 222 seats to 212 for Republicans (with one race still to be called), so there is not a lot of wiggle room for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
So where does that leave us? In the Winter issue’s Georgia on Our Minds feature story, Ted Godbout reviewed what the 2020 election results—particularly the impact of the Georgia runoffs—might mean for retirement policy.
Since the article was published, the Trump administration’s Labor Department has finalized its rule on fiduciary duties regarding proxy voting and shareholder rights. The rule will become effective Jan. 15, 2021, before Biden is sworn into office, so that will make it slightly more difficult and time-consuming for the new administration to pull back.
In contrast, the Labor Department also just finalized the prohibited transaction exemption on investment advice with a 60-day delay in the effective date, meaning the PTE will not become effective until Feb. 16, 2021. Since that will be after Biden takes office, it is more likely that this guidance will be delayed and come under review by the incoming administration.
Still, beyond the regulatory agenda, retirement policy legislation has generally enjoyed bipartisan support and compromise throughout the years, and there are two bipartisan bills waiting in the wings.
