Washington, D.C. – The Senate passed a resolution today to nullify a Department of Labor rule that protects workers and their life savings, following on the heels of yesterday’s House vote. President Biden has indicated that he will veto the resolution.
AFR and Public Citizen led a letter to members of Congress, urging them to oppose a Congressional Review Act Resolution seeking to nullify the Department of Labor’s important new rule that safeguards workers’ retirement security. Over sixty organizations signed on to the letter.
AFREF led a letter to the Department of Labor in response to their proposed amendment to prohibited transaction class action exemption 84-14.
AFREF and 17 partners submitted comments to the Department of Labor on its request for information on climate risk to retirement plans and pensions, urging further integration of systemic risks like climate change, environmental, racial, and economic inequality into the administration of private retirement plans and pensions and the Federal Thrift Savings Plan.
AFREF joined the Save Our Retirement Coalition on a letter calling on the Department of Labor to expeditiously update and strengthen the rules governing retirement investment advice to help protect workers and retirees from harmful conflicts of interest.
26 organizations, led by the Consumer Federation of America urge reconsideration of the DOL policy allowing defined contribution plans to invest in private equity funds. Issues raised to the DOL over its original letter considering allowing such funds into private equity include: It fails to give
AFREF joined a letter to the Department of Labor detailing ways to improve protections for retail investors.
AFREF submitted a letter to the Department of Labor urging it to withdraw a rule proposal that would impose onerous costs and process requirements on private sector retirement plans when deciding whether and how to vote on matters brought to a vote at public companies’ annual meetings. It will impose costs on retirement savers and undermine advances on corporations’ integration of environmental, social and governance factors, including those that have a material financial impact on long-term investment performance
Together, these rules would put the retirement security of millions of American workers and retirees at risk by exposing them to conflicted retirement investment advice without adequate protections to limit the harmful impact of those conflicts of interest. We therefore urge you to withdraw the regulatory package in its entirety and to begin again on a rulemaking proposal that prioritizes protecting retirement savers from the toxic conflicts of interest that pervade the financial services industry.
Financial advisers now owe their clients a duty to put their interests first when giving retirement advice. This change is a huge victory for ordinary Americans investing for a secure retirement, one that will put billions of dollars back in their pockets.