The Hill News

Amid many signs that the economic recovery is languishing, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is stubbornly insisting on a proposed Rule measure that experts say would actually reduce the level of retirement savings in America.

While this 65-page Rule is shrouded in a vague desire to “reform” a well-established set of regulations based on the 35-year-old ERISA statute, the most startling “reform” will be the loss of millions of retirement savings accounts: IRAs and 401(k)s. And worse, most of the remaining accounts would become “do-it yourself investing”, losing access to investment education.
 
At its most basic, the proposed Rule would apply fiduciary standards to IRA and 401(k) providers and employers. This is a noble-sounding goal, but as a practical matter, over 90 percent of IRAs are simply too small to afford investment education in a fiduciary model.

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