DOL Seeks Delay in Investment Advice Rule

The Department of Labor has proposed delaying by 60 days the effective date of new rules allowing mutual fund companies to provide direct investment advice to defined-contribution plan participants, according to a notice on the Federal Register’s Web site. The DOL will make its decision based on the comments it gets from the public.

The Labor Department also wants to provide 30 days—during the 60-day delay period—for public comment on whether the agency should “allow the [investment advice] rules to take effect, issue a further extension, withdraw the rules or propose amendments,” the DOL notice said.

The Labor Department is proposing the extension because of a January 20 request from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who wanted to delay Bush administration regulations published in the Federal Register but yet to go into effect pending review by the Obama administration.

The Bush administration’s investment advice rules, as published in the Federal Register on January 21, the day after President Barack Obama took office, were scheduled to go into effect March 23. The proposed delay would move the effective date until at least May 22, the DOL said in its notice.

The DOL also asked the public to comment on the proposed delay within 14 days of the publication of the latest notice in the Federal Register, scheduled to occur Wednesday, February 4, according to the Federal Register Web site.

Filed by Doug Halonen of Pensions & Investments, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

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