The Labor Department today announced a proposal to push back the implementation of a controversial retirement savings rule by 60 days, giving officials more time to determine whether the rule should be revised or eliminated.
The Washington Post reports that the fiduciary rule, which aims to protect retirement savers from conflicts of interests, has been more than six years in the making.
Without a delay, the fiduciary rule would take full effect April 10. But under the proposal, which will be officially published Thursday, the rule would not take full effect until June 9.
The move comes after President Donald Trump signed a memo last month asking the department to re-evaluate the rule, which requires brokers working with retirement savers to put their clients’ interests ahead of their own.
By delaying the rule, the Labor Department is buying more time to comply with the president’s request to look into whether the rule harms consumers by limiting their investment options.
Business groups seeking to block the regulation launched multiple court challenges after the rule was finalized last year. At least three federal judges have ruled in support of the regulation.
The most recent decision upholding the rule came last month, a day before the Labor Department began the process of proposing a delay. That decision is now being appealed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups that oppose the regulation.
