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"Comment letters from the business, finance, and employee benefits communities have been broadly supportive of the [DOL's] Investment Selection Proposal, though many of these letters have also recommended various improvements and clarifications. In particular, industry letters urged the DOL to clarify the status of outside fiduciary advisers, the duty to monitor and to reconsider the DOL's wording regarding 'maximizing' returns."  MORE >>

"[EBSA] today removed from the Code of Federal Regulations the Biden-era 2024 final rule, 'Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary,' responding to final judgments entered in the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas vacating the rule. The vacatur notice in the Federal Register reflects the judicial resolution of legal challenges to the 2024 final rule and to amendments of associated prohibited transaction exemptions and restores [ERISA's] five-part test for determining whether a person is an investment advice fiduciary.... The department has no current plans to engage in notice and comment rulemaking in this regard ... The department will consider whether any additional guidance, including transitional or non-enforcement relief, is appropriate."  MORE >>

"[T]he interaction between the Proposed Rule and the CAA 2026 was a prevalent theme in the comments.... [C]ommenters made other legal arguments challenging the DOL's authority to proceed with the Proposed Rule ... Many comments addressed the feasibility of the effective date, the scope of the Proposed Rule, and the scope of the proposed audit rights."  MORE >>

"DOL's work here is important. They aren't changing the standard. The proposal doesn't raise or lower the bar for investment selection. It aims to add clarity. A clearer process-based rule can help fiduciaries evaluate investments carefully, document their decisions, and have more confidence that a prudent process will be respected.... [1] Asset neutrality must stay at the center. [2] The final rule should address the broader range of fiduciary investment decisions. [3] DOL should provide additional clarity on certain concepts while preserving maximum fiduciary discretion."  MORE >>

"The DOL finally announced what many had suspected -- they would not pursue their defense of their Retirement Security Rule (Rule}. When one considers the strong litigation advantage the DOL seemingly held as a result of two prominent federal judges having issued two strong opinions supporting both the Rule itself and, more importantly, the process the DOL used in drafting the Rule, [The author strongly believes] the DOL's actions constitute a betrayal of American workers."  MORE >>

"The proposed rule is essentially a readoption of the Trump administration's 2021 rule with only minor modifications. The DOL explicitly states it is rescinding the 2024 Biden Rule and readopting the 2021 Rule with a few updates. The key structural elements are identical: the same two-core-factor framework and the same three additional guidepost factors. The modifications are minimal. The DOL's proposed rule also dedicates extensive analysis to past court decisions, concluding that this standard formalizes how courts have been deciding independent contractor cases across administrations for decades."  MORE >>

"The rule and related amendments to seven prohibited transaction exemptions (PTEs) were originally scheduled to go live on Sept. 23, 2024. The dismissal of DOL's appeal leaves the court orders blocking the rule in place pending resolution of the legal challenges seeking the rule's invalidation. However, the rule is unlikely to take effect in its current form now that DOL has indicated it expects to engage in further rulemaking."  MORE >>

"Although the Proposed Rule is framed as a relatively narrow set of amendments implementing SECURE 2.0, it could require meaningful operational adjustments for plan sponsors and service providers ... The Proposed Rule also may create incentives for some employers to reconsider which safe harbor they use. In particular, the DOL requested comments on whether plans may shift from the 2020 notice-and-access framework back to the 2002 wired-at-work Safe Harbor for active employees in light of the new paper statement requirements."  MORE >>

"The [DOL] said in court documents this week that it supports a district court motion to vacate its Retirement Security Rule, the department's most recent attempt to extend fiduciary duty. The motion was filed jointly with a group of industry trade groups that initially filed a lawsuit to prevent the RSR from taking effect. With both sides now on the same side, the motion to vacate likely means the end of the Biden-era RSR." [FACC v. DOL, No. 24-0163 (E.D.Tex. unopposed motion for final judgment Mar. 11, 2026; ACLI v. DOL, No. 24-0482 (N.D. Tex. unopposed motion for final judgment Mar. 9, 2026)]  MORE >>

"The DOL identifies several concerns with the 2024 rule, including lack of clarity and predictability due to six broad, equally weighted factors with limited guidance on resolving conflicts among them, and overlapping concepts across factors that invite duplicative weighing. The DOL also cites a potential chilling effect on legitimate independent contracting ... Finally, the DOL views the 2024 rule as misaligned with Supreme Court precedent and the modern economy[.]"  MORE >>