Federal Government Policy and Business

Obama Vetoes Resolution Against DOL Retirement Rule As Lawsuits Fly

Forbes: President Barack Obama vetoed today a Congressional resolution to block his cornerstone rule meant to protect Americans from conflicted retirement savings advice. Meanwhile, the American Council of Life Insurers “reluctantly” filed the latest lawsuit to enjoin the DOL fiduciary rule, following two lawsuits filed last week.

“The outdated regulations in place before this rulemaking did not ensure that financial advisers act in their clients’ best interest when giving retirement investment advice. Instead, some firms have incentivized advisers to steer clients into products that have higher fees and lower returns – costing America’s families an estimated $17 billion a year,” President Obama said in a statement along with his veto. As a fiduciary, those giving individualized retirement will be held to a higher standard than what most retirement advisers adhere to today—a lesser “suitability” standard that lets them recommend products that are suitable but not necessarily in their clients’ best interest.

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