CONSUMER ADVOCATES SOUND OFF ON DELAY OF DOL FIDUCIARY RULE 

As U.S. Retirement Savers Lose Billions, Department of Labor Protects Wall Street.

 
Washington, DC – September 15, 2017 – As the comment period closes on the Department of Labor’s plans to delay the enforcement of the fiduciary rule, a common-sense protection that ensures retirement savers get the best financial advice, members of the SaveOurRetirement coalition today spoke out forcefully against the plan:
 
“Delaying the full enforcement of the fiduciary rule means seniors and people saving for retirement are being and will be bilked out of their hard earned money – billions of dollars per year,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. “An insecure retirement for you and a spouse is a painful human cost that goes beyond the billions of dollars at stake. And it’s not simply a delay; it’s about carving out time to weaken it at the behest of the worst actors on Wall Street.”
 
“The Trump administration is showing whose side it is on by siding with financial advisors over workers saving for retirement,” said Heidi Shierholz, director of policy for the Economic Policy Institute. “An 18-month delay literally takes billions of dollars out of retirement savers pockets, and hands those hard-earned dollars to financial advisors. We want an America where workers get a fair return on their life’s work.”
 
“Yet another delay will hurt the very people the rule is designed to protect, the nation’s retirement savers, who have already lost more than $10 billion in hard-earned savings because of these delays and now stand to lose even more,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project. “Meanwhile, it favors retirement advisors who have dodged compliance over those who have spent the time and resources to come into compliance. We urge the Department of Labor to put retirement savers and law-abiding financial advisors first, and let the entire conflict-of-interest rule take effect without further delays.”
 
“The Trump administration is ripping off working people’s retirement savings by delaying the fiduciary rule,” said Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. “Requiring financial advisors to put our best interests over their own isn’t a decision that requires any further thinking. It’s far past time to ensure working people keep more of their hard-earned savings for a secure and dignified retirement.”
 
“Industry lobbyists are pulling out all the stops to water down the strong protections the Department of Labor rule provides for retirement savers,” said Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America. “This delay isn’t about giving firms time to come into compliance. It’s about giving them time to dismantle the rule. Workers doing their best to save for a secure and independent retirement deserve better.”
 
“Delaying the rule is indefensible under the facts and the law,” said Stephen W. Hall, legal director and securities specialist at Better Markets. “And if it is implemented by the Department of Labor, it will inflict huge losses on retirement savers over the next year and a half and beyond, all to appease a vocal minority of advisers who still want to see the rule delayed and ultimately dismantled.”
 
“In our book, ‘delay’ is just another word for ‘decimate,’ said Karen Friedman, executive vice president at the Pension Rights Center. “After years of research, compromises and revisions, the Department of Labor released a strong rule that protects consumers. This delay is just a maneuver to give the industry time to get the rules watered down so they protect their own bottom lines instead of the hard-earned retirement money of savers. It’s shameful.”
 
MEDIA CONTACTS
 
Max Karlin for SaveOurRetirement Coalition, (703) 276-3255 or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com.
Carter Dougherty for Americans for Financial Reform, (202) 251-6700 or carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org.