Reminder: New DOL Fiduciary Rule – What it Means for Your Business

Your Potential Fiduciary Obligations 

Department of Labor “Fiduciary Rule” Resources: Important information for producers offering retirement products in the qualified marketplace

In February of this year, the Biden Administration formally approved the previous Trump Administration’s new fiduciary rulemaking potentially impacting those advising and selling in the qualified marketplace. The rulemaking itself can be broken down into two parts: (1) a reinstatement of the old 5-Part Test for determining “who” is a fiduciary (along with a new interpretation, which effectively broadened the scope of who now meets this test) and (2) the creation of a new “prohibited transaction exemption” (or “PTE”). Together, they likely create new compliance obligations for producers who recommend qualified annuity products. The Biden Administration also extended a temporary non-enforcement policy through December 20, 2021, so long as certain obligations were met. This non-enforcement policy was subsequently extended to February 1, 2022. As a result, on February 1, 2022, the temporary non-enforcement expires and all new rules will be in place.

What does this mean for me? The resources in this email are designed to break down the new rulemaking and what it means for you and your business, including a summary of how we will be handling the new rulemaking, as well as a description of new compliance requirements for the qualified market when selling annuity products.