Savers reject barriers to information and want to keep their options for retirement security; Washington should reject fiduciary-only regulation.  

On Capitol Hill, the SECURE 2.0 Act passed at the end of 2022, showing bipartisan agreement to broaden Americans’ retirement security and close the savings gap.   

In State Capitals, policymakers are adopting Best Interest rules requiring financial professionals to follow best practices modeled by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.   

Best Interest rules protect people more than ever before by increasing disclosures and potential conflicts of interest when seeking guidance from financial professionals. 

It makes no sense for the U.S. Department of Labor to propose a regulation like fiduciary-only, which would limit people’s access to financial education and recommendations while Congress and states are increasing retirement options and protections. Fiduciaries often require account holders to maintain minimum balances starting as high as $100,000 which is more than many working-class Americans have in retirement savings.

The Department’s regulation was rejected in 2016. It shut out access for millions of Americans and could increase the racial wealth gap by 20% for Black and Hispanic Americans.  

More on what a fiduciary-only regulation would mean for low- and middle- income households HERE.