SIFMA Testimony on the Department of Labor Rule on Retirement Savings Advice

Washington, D.C., December 12, 2023 – Today, SIFMA’s Lisa Bleier, Head of Wealth Management, Retirement and State Government Relations delivered testimony at a virtual hearing before the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary,” and related proposed prohibited transaction exemption amendments, expressing strong concern with the proposal and the resulting possible negative impacts on retirement savers.

“The Department should withdraw this proposal, which is overly broad, unnecessary, and inconsistent with existing federal regulations such as the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest. As a result, it could limit access to advice and education while also limiting investor choice in advisors,” Bleier said in the testimony today. “There are so many more areas of retirement law that deserve our attention, including helping more individuals save for retirement and for emergencies, increasing exposure to financial literacy programs, and helping individuals make their savings last through retirement. Let’s find better uses for our collective time.”

The testimony highlighted a number of areas of particular concern, including, the proposal would:

• Sweep in conversations that are merely educational, as well as those that are responsive to RFPs and other inquiries from large plans;
• Make it challenging to provide education in the rollover area; and
• Allow a foreign government to dictate whether a large bank holding company should be allowed to service U.S. retail investors.

The testimony further expands on these views and can be found here.

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SIFMA is the leading trade association for broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers operating in the U.S. and global capital markets. On behalf of our industry’s one million employees, we advocate on legislation, regulation and business policy affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA).