A sampling of the Plan Sponsor University (TPSU) attendees shows only basic understanding of DOL Rule among plan sponsors.
President Donald J. Trump made waves within the private retirement industry when within three weeks of being sworn into the position; he issued an Executive Memorandum and instructed the Department of Labor to prepare an updated economic and legal analysis on the new DOL fiduciary rule. The intention of the analysis is to assess whether or not the proposed new fiduciary rule will be harmful to investors, disruptive to the retirement plan industry and whether the rule will be result in increased litigation. Also in the president’s memo is the question of whether the new rule will raise the cost of advice to plan sponsors and plan participants.
Less than forty days later, the Department of Labor issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2017-01 which was intended to clarify the need to comply with the date set forth in the original DOL new fiduciary rule – currently scheduled to be phased-in starting on April 10, 2017.
What is The Impact on Retirement Plan Fiduciaries?
If plan sponsors who recently attended a Fiduciary Education Program can serve as proxy for all plan sponsors, then the new DOL fiduciary rule is a non-event. Last week, The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU) hosted at Queensland University in Charlotte, North Carolina. The half day education program with retirement plan fiduciaries who oversee the company qualified retirement plan showed only a small percentage fully understood the DOL Rule. Thirty different companies were represented by 34 retirement plan fiduciaries; whose plans impact over 80,000 plan participants. When the topic of the New DOL Fiduciary Rule was discussed, program attendees were forthright in expressing that neither they, nor their company fiduciaries were concerned with the upcoming new DOL Fiduciary rule.
To read a full explanation of the DOL Field Assistance Bulletin read the FAQ on the subject, published by the Department of Labor.
In addition, the DOL recently issued a memorandum that regardless of whether their fiduciary rule is delayed or not it would delay enforcement to avoid marketplace confusion and disruption.
