Congress is heading out of town, but that hasn’t stopped a consortium of unions and consumer groups from sending a “Dear Member of Congress” letter lending their support to the Department of Labor’s revision of the fiduciary rule.
The letter, which basically restates the position already taken by many of the signatories (see below), echoes the rationale offered by the DOL in proposing changes: that the retirement circumstances facing American workers and families today are dramatically different than they were 40 years ago; that most individuals “find themselves ill-equipped to navigate the complex choices they now face, so they turn to advisers they trust to act in their best interest”; and that “unless the DOL rule is updated and broadened, many workers and retirees will continue to be vulnerable to conflicted advice that actually depletes their savings and threatens their prospects for retirement.”
The letter notes that low- and middle-income Americans are especially vulnerable, that the “DOL rule can protect Americans without limiting the availability of advice … contrary to the dire predictions of many in the financial services industry.”
While the DOL has not yet unveiled its reproposal of the fiduciary rule, NAPA has commented that the prior proposal could disrupt relationships between advisors and participants.
Signatories to the letter include AARP, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, American Federation of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Consumer Federation of America, Demos, The Economic Policy Institute, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Longshoremen’s Association, Pension Rights Center, SEIU, United Auto Workers, and the United Steel Workers.
